Jacob's Turn
by redrosefell
Summary: READ! READ! Jake returns to settle things with Bella to try to change her mind about becoming a vampire, but a strange turn of events interrupts his plan.
1. Finding Something New

Jacob Finds Love...Not Bella

(Jacob's point-of-view)

The wedding was mere days away now and I couldn't think of anything to say or do to stop her. My heart felt as if it were some shriveled black thing in my chest. I had no desire to move on, to get over her. Bella was all I wanted. I needed her to make me whole. Why couldn't she see for once that the bloodsucker she called her boyfriend could never love her the way I could, the way I do? I could give her so much. I didn't need to imprint on her to be her slave for life. I would do anything for her. No, it's true, I don't have all the money or resources that_ Edward _has, but I would lie, cheat, steal...hell, I would break all ten commandments for her! All she would have to do is ask.

Since this whole werewolf nightmare reared it's ugly head she was the only person who wasn't "in the know" who understood me. I didn't have to tell her if something was wrong. She just knew. I could make her happy I know I could. The same way that I could hurt her, and I swore never to do that.

Since that day on the beach when we first met I felt this connection to her. A kinship that I've never felt with anyone. Even my brothers in the pack never felt this connected to me and God knows they hear every thought and feeling I have whether I'm willing to share it or not. Bella accepted me readily and willingly. She would have risked life and limb to be with me when I was a danger to everyone around me. That danger is past now and there is no reason she couldn't be with me...no reason she couldn't be my Bella and be happy with me forever. No reason but _him_. How I hate what he's done to her, but not as much as what he's planning to do.

I finally came back from my agonizing stay in the forest. I'd remained in the wolf form for the longest time I ever had, because it was easier to push away the human emotions when I didn't feel quite human. This morning it dawned on me that I had to go home, because I may never see Isabella Swan again and staying out of sight could possibly make it easier for her to put me out of mind. I couldn't stay away from the pack forever, either. They were my family now and I didn't have any excuse for causing them any pain or trouble. I decided to see Billy first and let him no that his hard headed, heart broken son had returned. He didn't surprised when I walked into the tiny house and plopped down on the couch a little too hard causing the floor to groan under my new found body mass. He smiled a familiar pitying smile and patted my arm. "Want some breakfast?", he asked nonchalantly, as if I were just coming in after a night of teenage antics.

"No, thanks," I simply answered. It was easier to hide my hurt if I didn't have to say much. "I think I'm gonna go shower and then see what the guys are up to."

"Sure, sure. You should probably do that. Since they don't already know everything ," he chuckled.

"Oh you find that funny, do you," I asked with mock anger. "How would you like to have half the village in your head all the time?"

"No, you're right, " he looked down at the newspaper in his hands with a serious face and then he grinned. "Widow Reed wouldn't be very flattered, I guess."

"Jeez, Dad!", I tried to shake the image of the two of them together out of my mind. Billy laughed a laugh I hadn't heard in awhile,while I headed for the bathroom to steam away a week of being in the wilderness. A shower would clear my thoughts a little. I needed to be focused to get through what I had to do today. There was someone I needed to talk to and I wasn't sure how our conversation would go. If I was extremely lucky she would be in my arms at least for a goodbye hug. Smelling like soap instead of dirt and pine trees couldn't hurt if that was the case.

My dad seemed connected to my thoughts now almost as well as the members of the pack. I didn't need to tell him where I was headed when he saw me dressed my best, but I told him anyway. "I need to see her, Dad. Even if it's the last time I do." I know," was all he replied and I headed out the door.

All the way to Forks I hoped and prayed she would be home and alone so I didn't have to go anywhere near the Cullen's stinking vampire lair. It disgusted me to think of his smell all over her and enraged me to wonder how it got there. I was fuming at the thought of his hand touching hers when I should be the one with her when I saw her tired old truck parked in front of a house I didn't know. I wasn't even concerned about whose house it was. At least it wasn't Cullen's and it didn't look like a place he would frequent. I parked behind her truck and noticed as I got out that there were several cars besides ours parked on either side of the street and a few in the driveway. It looked as if a party was going on inside. There were balloons tied to the front gate and the door was decorated with streamers and paper bells. I wasn't ashamed to crash someone's party if it meant a moment spent with Bella. Our time together was swiftly approaching an end and I figured I needed to squeeze in as many as possible.

The name on the mailbox was Webber and I thought I remembered Bella mentioning a friend at school with that name. We never talked about anyone else much when we were together. The world seemed to revolve around us alone. Or at least that's what it was like for me. I'm sure her mind was on "someone else" besides me half of our time together, but I got to be the one to share her company.

I knocked on the door and a smiling woman answered holding a tray of finger foods. "Thanks," I said as I grabbed two little cookies and popped them in my mouth. Her jaw fell and she stepped backward as I slipped inside the doorway. I could smell that sweet fragrance that meant Bella was close. Down a short hallway in another room I found her surrounded by a small throng of other girls who were giggling as she opened pastel colored gifts. Was this_ her _party? It wasn't her birthday. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. They betrayed her more than she knew. I stepped closer and when she glanced up and caught sight of me she smiled a genuine smile. The room full of giggling girls quieted and all eyes turned to me. Some people whispered things I could hear, but knew Bella wouldn't be happy about so I decided against telling her that her friends thought she should at least take me "out for a test drive before settling down with Edward." Ha! I'd have to remember to send him that mental image the next time he was around. I smiled,agreeing silently with whoever whispered their thoughts of Bella and I together.

I could tell she wanted to come talk with me, but she didn't want to be rude to her entourage of well wishers. So I mouthed the words, "I'll wait," and she nodded and picked up another gift. I leaned against the wall furthest from the group of party goers.and watched silently as Bella said polite "thank you's" and opened gift after gift as they were handed to her. She looked beautiful in the midst of all the others. I pictured her as a queen or goddess perched on a pedestal being worshiped by lesser women. I smiled at the thought. The minutes were dragging by. I didn't know how long I had been waiting to get her to myself, probably not long, but I was getting anxious. I walked to a window a few feet from where I was and looked out into a perfectly manicured lawn. A hand on my arm brought me quickly back from further thoughts and without thinking I turned in one swift motion and swung Bella into my arms...only it wasn't Bell. I panicked looking into the pretty face of the girl in my arms and nearly dropped her. She giggled when I caught her instead of screaming as most girls would have, being grabbed by some stranger.

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry! I thought you were..,"

"Bella, I know," she cut my words short.

"I'm so sorry, really, I never meant to.."

"It's okay, honestly. Now I can say I've been swept of my feet by a tall dark stranger and it will be the truth." She laughed quietly and it sounded almost musical. I was speachless. When anyone else would have freaked out this girl simply shrugged and laughed it off. I liked her instantly. There was something about her that reminded me of Bella when we first met, but that wasn't all. She was pretty and her eyes seemed kind. She looked like the kind of person whom everyone liked because she was genuinely likable.

"I didn't realize Bella had invited you or we would have waited for you before we opened the gifts. I guess we just got carried away. Did you have something to give her? I should take it to her before she finishes...or did you want to give it to her yourself?"

"Um,,,I didn't know about the party. I'm kind of crashing." I racked my brain trying to think of what I should say so as not to offend this person who was being so nice to me. "I actually was on my way over to Bella's and I saw her truck outside...I'm sorry.I shouldn't have barged in...," I was stumbling over my words. "Wait, what's this all about anyway?"

The girl looked bewildered for a moment and then understanding seemed to rush over her. "You're Jacob aren't you? I'm sorry. I was being rude before. I never introduced myself properly. I'm Angela Webber." She stuck out her hand and I looked at it still confused.

She laughed that little laugh again and reached out to take my hand. I watched as she mockingly put my big hand in her tiny one and shook it slowly up and down. "Hi, Angela it's nice to meet you. I'm Jacob Black," she said slowly and sarcastically. I couldn't help but laugh myself.

"Sorry," I said again. " It is nice to meet you, Angela. I'm still not sure what the party's all about, though. Could you clue me in?" Angela looked troubled and began to answer then lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Well, you're not very observant are you? We're giving her a wedding shower. The wedding is right around the corner you know and..." Her words faded out and realization struck me full force. This wasn't a birthday party or any other insignificant little shindig. This was a celebration of the moment I had been dreading for so long now. This was absolute proof of why I had exiled myself to the woods. I turned around at the thought and looked toward Bella, still sitting in the midst of

her friends opening gifts that I should have looked more closely at before. In a small pile at her feet lay hand towels and mixing bowls, crystal stemware and other various kitchen and household items. I laughed once, loud and arrogantly. She wouldn't be needing those for long would she? Soon her diet would be a warm liquid one that required no tools other than her beautiful mouth.

I was wrong. I couldn't deal with this now. I was too angry with her, with him, with myself. Why was she doing this? Didn't he love her enough to leave her alone? What could I have done differently before to make her love me the way that I love her? Too many questions to which I may never have an answer. The room was suffocating me. I needed fresh air. I needed to run, to feel the muscles of the wolf pull me along through the trees and away from Bella.

I moved as quickly as I could out of the room before Bella saw me leave and could try to stop me. I didn't move fast enough, because before I could open my car door a hand touched my back. "Don't Bella!," I nearly screamed at her.

"Wrong girl again," Angela said. Her voice was calm and I could hear the pity in it.

"I'm sorry, _again_, Angela, but I have to go. Tell Bella maybe I'll call her later...but not to count on it," I said under my breath. I turned to look at Angela, but she wasn't behind me. I figured she must have run back to the house to tell Bella that I was upset and leaving. I got in the car and nearly jumped through the window. Angela hadn't turned back to the house. She was sitting in the passenger side of my car looking at me intently. I was gripping the steering wheel so hard with shock that I felt it crack. I smiled a smug smile to myself and leaned my head back against the seat closing my eyes.

"Don't leave upset, okay?" Angela touched my forearm gingerly the way Bella used to when things were different between us. I didn't pull away. "I think I know how things are between the two of you even though Bella doesn't say much about anything that goes on with her outside of school." It was like she could read my mind. "I'm sorry that I assumed she told you about all of this. It was stupid of me. I...I don't know what I was thinking." Angela's hand was still rested on my arm. I opened my eyes and turned my gaze toward her. She didn't look like she was feeling sorry for me and that was nice. I didn't want anyone's pity. "I should go, Angela," was all I could manage to say. She never even blinked.

"If I begged, would you stay? Just long enough to show her that you_ are _her friend and that you care? Maybe just to wish her well and then you can go? I'll stay with you if it helps. She'll like that you and I are becoming friends." Her smile was beginning to remind me of an angel and how could I say no to a well-meaning, kind hearted angel? I didn't know what made me move, but in the next minute I was back in the house watching Bella unwrap the last of her wedding gifts. Angela was beside me, occasionally glancing toward me to see if I was ready to bolt. I dug my hands deep into my pockets so she wouldn't see them balled into fists at my side.

"Would you rather wait a little while longer to talk to her or would it be better for you to just get it over with?," Angela inquired in a whisper. Before I could answer her gaze met mine and she said, "Okay," and then walked to the other side of the room where Bella was sitting. She bent to Bella ear and whispered something even I couldn't make out. Bella seemed to say "Thank you" and she stood and began walking toward me. From the corner of my eye I could see Angela speaking quickly to the woman who had answered the door and gesturing toward Bella. Then before I found myself alone with Bella and my harsh thoughts, Angela was at Bella's side, both of them closing in on me. Bella smiled, but Angela's seemed more sincere.

"Bella, Jacob and I have now been properly introduced and now I can see why you spent so much time with him," Angela said before either of us could say anything to the other.

Bella seemed taken aback that her friends could have become so familiar in such a short amount of time. "Wow, that's great, Angela. I'm glad you two got a chance to talk." Bella's words held no enthusiasm. "Jacob, I'm so glad to see you. We were worried. When did you get back from...your trip?" She anxiously asked glancing in Angela's direction and looked back to me, her brow was furrowed as if she were turning some puzzle over in her mind. "What are you doing here?," she questioned. "Did Angela invite you?"

Angela snickered.

"No one invited me," I answered sheepishly. "I just happened to be on my way to see you and I spotted your truck parked out front. Sorry, I crashed your "wedded bliss" party," I didn't try to hide the venom in my voice.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're okay," Bella said without seeming to notice my snotty remark. She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me the way a little sister would her big brother. "Will you stay a little longer? I think we're almost finished here, aren't we, Angela?

"Not if I know my mother," Angela remarked. "She loves throwing parties and each one seems to get longer than the next. You can sneak out if you want and I'll make your excuses for you." Angela threw a smile in my direction and winked. Her eyes sparkled even in the dim light of the room. I was really beginning to think I could be friends with this girl. If not for the whole "keep the secret of the werewolf pack" thing. She and I would never have reason to be close anyway. I brushed the thought from my mind.

I answered before Bella could. I still needed some time to gather my thoughts before the two of us were alone in a deep conversation about her future and mine. "Actually, Bells, do you mind if I skip out of this girly get together and meet you at your house later? That is, if we'll get to be alone for a few minutes. I'd really like to talk to you in private, if you know what I'm getting at." I didn't need to hint. She knew exactly what I meant. I didn't want the pleasure of the blood sucker's company while trying to talk her out of eternal damnation.

Bella agreed that would be best and promised an Edward free evening. I somehow doubted that he would be far away and I made a mental note to remember what the girls in the room had thought out loud. That was something I looked forward to and I smiled an evil smile to myself. Angela giggled as though she shared Cullen's gift and read my ill thoughts toward him. I laughed back at her and Bella frowned at us both, left out of an inside joke she thought we shared.


	2. Angela On My Mind

Angela On My Mind

I waited in my car for an hour outside of Bella's house. Charlie wasn't home and I didn't want my breaking in to upset Bella before I got the chance to do that with what I wanted to say to her. I went over in my mind all the things we could make small talk about before the conversation became too heavy and she shoved me right out the front door. My mind wandered to all the places she and I had spent time together. It took less than 30 seconds to recall each and every one. It seemed like less than nothing in comparison to the time she had spent in all the places she had been with Edward. I skipped through my thoughts to the last place we had been together...Angela's house. I had seen her around now that I thought about it. I'd just never paid that much attention to any girl besides Bella.

"Whoa!," I thought out loud. "Where did that come from, and what made you think of her?"

I was supposed to be concentrating on one major thing, talking the girl I loved out of ruining (and possibly ending) her life. I didn't need distractions. Angela seemed like she would make a nice distraction, but one I still didn't need to worry about just now. I

It was warm inside the car and the heat made me realize just how exhausted I was. I closed my eyes and let my skin bake in the sun. Before I knew what was happening I was standing outside a house watching a beautiful woman hanging clothes on a line to dry. Two little kids were playing in the yard and I could feel a smile forming on my lips. It felt so familiar to me, yet so distant and strange. This was a dream, I was lucid enough to know this was a dream, but it felt so right, so real. This was the dream Bella told me about. I had been thinking of her and my mind created this dream because of what she had said before.

I decided to take advantage of the opportunity before me, even if it was just a dream. After all, if I didn't convince Bella that Cullen was all wrong for her and I didn't do it soon, this was the closest thing I would get of my happy ever after with her. I walked through the dream to the kids who both smiled at me and giggled. I knew they were mine. They even looked like pictures of me when I was little. I didn't know if I had ever had a dream so vivid. If I had known for sure that there was more time to linger, I would've wrestled in the dirt with them both. Time was of the essence though if I was going to make a memory worthy of throwing up to _Eddie_ later. I walked on past them to where their mother stood on her toes trying to hang my shirt on a too tall clothes line. Her back was to me, but I would know the woman I loved anywhere. I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and lifted her off her feet. She threw her head back and laughed. The sound was beautiful. She dropped the shirt and I put her down gently. She turned to face me...she was beaming. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she moved swiftly to touch my face with her hand and I bent to kiss her. I wanted to keep her here in this perfect world with me forever. Love radiated from her to me. I could feel her skin against mine and I wondered if maybe this wasn't a dream after all. It felt too real.

She pulled back from the kiss slowly and looked so deep in my eyes that I knew she could see my thoughts. I never wanted to leave her. "I love you," she said in her angel's voice.

"I love you, too, Angela."

A knock on the window woke me with a start. Bella smiled. "Wake up, sleepy head. Let's go inside. We need to talk, don't we?"

Right then I wasn't so sure we did.


	3. Through and Through

Through and Through

I smiled as convincing a smile as I could. Bella frowned. She always knew when things weren't right with me. I was sure she must be thinking that I was planning more trouble for her. Maybe it was cruel of me to make her choose between the two people she loved most in the world. I didn't care. I was the one she was supposed to be with and deep down inside I knew she felt the same way. Or at least I thought I could be sure of that.

I shook off the dream. That's all it was, a really weird dream created by my tired brain from bits and pieces of the real memories my subconscious wove together. I realized I was still sitting in my car looking at Bella through the half closed window. She cocked her head sideways, looking like a puppy trying to understand what it's master is saying. She opened the car door and stepped back. I slid out and held the door between us. I laughed and she smiled. "What is so funny? And what joke did I miss between you and Angela earlier?" I slammed the door without thinking and nearly caught my hand in it.

Why did she have to bring her up? The dream came back to me as strong as if I were still standing there with the dream Angela in my arms. Her eyes bore into the depths of me. They were so sweet and kind and yet there was a burning desire in them and I was the object of that desire.

What was I thinking? This was crazy. I felt the blood drain from my face and I felt as pale as the bloodsuckers looked. What was wrong with me. I shouldn't be daydreaming, especially about some other girl. I was here to talk to Bella. I was here to...to what? I was staring over Bella's shoulder when she gouged me in the ribs.

"Ow! What?"

"You are being so weird! What's going on? You've been gone for so long now that I thought I wasn't going to see you again. I called Embry and Quil and I even went to see Emily and Sam. They convinced me that you were fine and that you'd been on patrols to keep your mind off the...well, nevermind. Are you okay?" She sounded truly concerned, but I noticed how she stayed a few steps further away from me than she would normally.

"Is he here? Watching us, I mean?," I tried not to sound angry at the thought of him being in close proximity to us. He of all people should know that I meant Bella no harm in any way. Although I couldn't really blame him for keeping a close eye on her. After all if it was the other way around, I probably would have dismembered him already so I wouldn't have to worry about him trying to snatch her out from under me.

"No... At least I don't think so. I can't read his mind anymore than he can read mine, but I asked him to stay away. So, unless you give him any reason to join us I don't think you have to worry," she sounded convinced, but I saw her glance over her shoulder as she spoke.

"Jacob, are you okay? You still haven't answered my question?"

"Which question?," I asked innocently.

"All of them. None of them. I don't know!," she laughed when I smiled at her and stuck out my lip, pretending to pout because she was yelling.

"Stop that and be serious for a minute."

"I'm trying," I said sweetly, "but you keeping screaming at me."

"I'll apologize when you start making sense, Jake. Let's go inside and I'll get you something to eat. Somehow I wound up with half a cake and a couple dozen petit fours to dispose of. Maybe after you have a good sugar rush going you'll be able to talk sensibly." She shoved a box in my hands and I followed her into the house.

I tried to think of what she had asked me so that I could respond quickly before she mentioned Angela again. I watched Bella put the box she was holding on the counter and pull two plates from the cabinet. I sat my box beside hers. She looked good. She seemed to be holding in a smile, so I could tell she was happy. I figured it must be thoughts of Edward creating that smile, otherwise she wouldn't try to hide it from me. Her hair smelled nice and she had no trace of vampire stench on her clothes, so he must not have been around in a few hours. She took off her jacket and pushed up the thin sleeves of her shirt so she didn't get cake frosting on them. Her shirt was nearly the same color of Angela's eyes. Damn! What was going on with me?! I pounded the counter with my fist and one of the plates crashed to the floor.

"Jake, what's wrong?," Bella yelled and grabbed my hand. Something's going on and you are going to tell me right now."

"Sorry, Bella. I just remembered some things that I needed to do for Billy and I forgot. I shouldn't have overreacted." Hopefully she would believe that lie. She had believed me so readily before.

"Are you sure that's all it is? You're not upset about...something else?"

I knew what she was getting at. "You know I'm upset about that, but just now it was the thing for Billy."

I bent down to clean up the shard of broken plate and she knelt beside me. "We've been over this before Jacob. I love Edward. I _am_ marrying him. And I _will_ be with him forever." She didn't look at me when she spoke. I was glad. I didn't want to look into her eyes when she confessed her love for him.

"Ouch!"

"I knew it," I said snickering in spite of myself. "You should have to walk around in a suit of armor and be banned from owning anything with the potential to inflict bodily injury. Only finger food for you. That is if you can keep from biting off your own fingers."

I pulled a sliver of broken dish from her hand and the crimson ribbon of blood flowed onto mine. We looked at each other and I expected her to faint at any moment.

"This is your future if you stay with him, Bells. Might as well get use to it," my expression was entirely serious. I helped her up and washed her hand in the kitchen sink.

She held up the hand that wasn't bleeding and said,"You're right. I might as well." I backed up and let her deal with her own wounds.

I could tell she meant it when she said she loved him. She was _his_ through and through. They belonged together and as much as I couldn't bear to think of her as his forever it somehow made karmic sense. The blood drinker and the squeamish girl who sometimes passed out at the sight of her own blood.

I didn't know what I was saying. Whose voice was this in my head? Even if I hadn't said it out loud, I had just admitted to myself that it was futile to follow Bella around hoping to convince her to change her mind.

..._She was__** his **__through and through._


	4. Carried Away

Carried Away

"There's a first aid kit under the sink, Jake. Would you get it for me?" Bella's hand had stopped bleeding and she assured me that she didn't need stitches. "Just hand me some gauze and tape and I think it will be fine," she tried to console me when she was the one hurt.

"Handy thing for a girl like you to keep around," I tried to sound light hearted. "It's a good thing you'll be pretty much unbreakable soon, huh?". Bella was motionless. I heard her suck in her breath, holding it as if she were ready to plunge from the cliff again. I waited for her to respond before I said anything more. She studied me with her gaze, looking me over as if she could find what it was that made me different than the person she expected to be talking to. I waited. She still said nothing.

"Do you want some antibiotic cream, too?," I asked casually, trying to distract her from the seriousness that hardened her soft face.

"What? No...I...Jake, what did you just say?"

"I asked if you wanted some antibiotic cream before you bandage your hand. You don't want it to get infected," I held out the tube to her.

"No, that's not what I meant. What did you say before that?"

"That you were smart to keep a first aid kit around. You're very clumsy, you know," I forced a smile.

"Oh," was all she replied.

Bella sat down at the little kitchen table to mend her hand. When I offered to help she just shook her head, so I began cleaning up the mess I had made of the plate.

"You don't have to do that, Jacob."

"Sure I do. I made the mess, I'll clean it up. I wasn't raised by wolves, you know?"

She didn't laugh out loud, but I saw a grin crease her face from the corner of my eye. I finished sweeping up the glass and wiped up the blood from the floor. It only took a few minutes, but in that time Bella hadn't said a word. She hadn't moved from her seat at the table and I didn't stare at her. I was trying to be as normal as possible. There was no need for our evening together to be ruined by something I said or did to upset her. When I was finished I put away the broom and dust pan and pulled out the chair across from her. She had her head down and pretended to rearrange the makeshift bandage on her hand.

"Do you want me to rewrap that for you?", I asked as I laid my hand out to her, palm up. She didn't answer, but placed her hand in mine. I gently replaced the gauze and taped it neater than it had been. Bella smiled weakly at her hand, never looking up at me.

"Can I confess something to you, Jake?"

"Sure, just call me Father Jacob, would you? Maybe that way you'll be absolved of whatever sin it is that's eating at you." I was trying to lighten the mood again, but Bella wouldn't have that.

"Serious, Jake. Remember? For just a minute, okay?"

"Okay. What is it you need to tell me?" Now I was getting worried. Maybe I had given up a minute too soon. What if she told me that she had changed her mind. I wasn't entirely sure how I would feel about that.

Another long pause. "Bella, you know how I hate suspense. Tell me already."

"I was jealous today."

I didn't know what she was talking about. "What do you mean? Did he find another warm body to drool over?" That came out way too harsh, but she didn't even flinch.

"I'm not talking about Edward," she looked at me so intently it was like she was trying to press her thoughts into my head without having to say them. "I meant earlier today. You and Angela."

Angela. How did we keep coming back to her? I didn't know how to respond so I waited for Bella to explain.

She automatically took my silence for what it was, a prompt for more information. "I saw the way the two of you seemed to connect. I saw you smiling at each other and I wanted more than anything to ask you just what you thought you were doing while I was sitting right there in the same room."

I laughed but I really didn't know why. "I still don't understand what you're talking about Bells," though I was getting a pretty good idea. I wanted to hear it from her.

"I was jealous of you and Angela! There I said it, and now I'm totally embarassed. She was stealing my sunshine, Jake. I could feel that little green monster in me growing every second. And then she followed you _outside_. I couldn't hear what you had been saying to one another, and it was killing me. I wanted you to be smiling at me not her. I almost jumped up and ran out of the party after the two of you."

"What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be telling you this," she sobbed and I realized she had been crying, although while she talked she'd had a funny smile on her face.

I didn't think, I just rushed to her side and picked her up from her seat. She didn't resist me so I kissed her head, her cheeks and her mouth. These were not the same as kisses we had shared before. They were not full of the passion I so wanted her to return to me. I kissed her to comfort her, because I loved her. I knew it was not the love she needed to be whole. It was the love a friend she would always need. An understanding seemed to pass between us and I held her close for another brief moment.

When her crying had ceased, I carried her to the couch and sat down beside her. She took my hand in hers and said,"See we really do need to talk."

"Yeah, I guess we do, but I'm gonna go first, okay?"

She nodded and I took a deep breath. "Okay. I know now how it has to be between us." I thought for sure she would try to interrupt me here, but she only sat patiently waiting for me to continue. "We will always be friends, Bella. More than friends. You are family to me, to all of us." She knew I meant the pack. They truly did feel connected to her in spite of all she and I had been through. " I will be here for you in every way I can for as long as I can, but you're right. I have to let you go. You need to be with him. I can see that now, and I'm sorry I was so pig headed before. I shouldn't have made things so hard on you."

Bella smiled the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Even though her eyes were filled with tears I could tell that what I was telling her was making her happy.

"I do love you, Jake. I'm sorry that I let this go on for so long. If things had been different you know it would have been you and me always, right?"

"Yes, Bella. I know, but this is how things are supposed to be." I wrapped my arms around her and held her there for a moment. When she pulled back to look up at me I stuck out my tongue and crossed my eyes at her.

"You're a very mature werewolf, Jacob Black," she chuckled through her tears. "Don't ever change."

"Oh, I won't. Not too much anyway. I'll only get better looking with time." Now she was laughing harder and her tears were drying on her face. "I don't want to think too far ahead just right now,Bella, but I'd like to think someday I'll get use to your new bloodsucker stink and we can hang out alot more."

She punched me in the arm and hurt her knuckles. She laughed and cried at the same time.

"Ow! Stinking wolf boy...just you wait 'til I'm all vamped out."

"Well, don't get too carried away. We don't want to start another interspecies fued anytime soon."


	5. The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End

We sat on the tiny couch in Charlie's living room and talked until nearly dark. Neither of us brought up the status of our relationship again. We skirted the issue, tiptoed around it, because it was much easier to pretend that things were black and white rather than so gray. I loved her and she loved me, but it appeared fate had other plans - for Bella, anyway. I was resigned now to accept that as best I could.

Something had changed today and I was stunned by the way my heart was still beating in my chest rather than lying in shattered splinters in my stomach. I should be angry with her, with myself for giving up on what could have been. But I wasn't. It didn't make sense to me that all of a sudden this was so easy to deal with.

Bella laughed the way she use to while she told me stories of Alice making her over. I laughed too, but my mind wandered to far away places. I was searching for some answer to what brought on this change in me. Change. It hit me hard and I caught my breath, holding it in the way Bella had earlier.

"Jake, what is it?" Bella asked, the concern back in her eyes.

I kicked myself for breaking the happier mood. "Uh, what?" I said not sure how to tell her what was on my mind. "No, no. I'm fine, I just remembered the things I promised Billy I'd get done. I didn't realize how late it was 'til just now." That wasn't entirely a lie. I got so caught up in just being alone and comfortable with Bella that I'd lost track of time. It hadn't mattered until just now, but the thought that seeped into my mind made my stomach churn and I needed to talk to the pack, to Sam most of all.

"Bella?" She looked at me with worry. " I'd really like to stay longer, but I need to go. I'll call you later, maybe?"

"Yeah, definately, Jake. I wish you didn't have to go, but I'm sure Edward's pacing the floor anyway. I promised I'd call him as soon as you left." She put her hand to her lips like she was unsure how I'd feel about the comment.

"You should call him so he doesn't worry. _I'll_ call _you_ in the morning, okay?"

She furrowed her brow and grinned as if I was being sarcastic about not wanting her to worry the bloodsucker. "Jake, I don't know what happened while you were gone, but I'm glad things are okay with us now. Please, please don't do that again. You're going to give me gray hair and wrinkles before my time if you keep running off into the unknown like that."

"It's not "the unknown", silly girl. If it makes you feel better, I'll leave you a note the next time I decide to disappear for a few days. And you won't have to worry about aging gracefully, remember."

"Yeah...I guess not, huh? I still forget sometimes how much things will change," I thought I could see tears welling up in her eyes. I sighed and pulled her into a bear hug.

"Can't...breathe...Jake," she mumbled. Her voice was muffled against my chest. I laughed and let go. I held her arms and bent down to look into her eyes. "You could still change your mind, Bella," I stopped her before she could protest, "but I know you won't."

She smiled and wiped the moisture from her eyes with the backs of her hands. I walked through the door turning back when I was a foot from my car. "Bye, Bella."

"Bye, Jake."

Our words held more meaning than we cared to voice just now. Goodbye would have to say it all.


	6. Realization

_I should have mentioned earlier (but you're all smart people and it really didn't occur to me) that I own nothing in any way, shape or form relating to Stephanie Meyer's **Twilight** Series. All characters in this story are "borrowed" from her brilliant mind. This little drama is mine alone, formed and born of my brain out of desperation for more of the Twilight universe._

_Hope you enjoy! -redrosefell_

Realization

I glanced in the rear view mirror once for a split second to say a silent "goodbye" to Bella. If these feelings driving me crazy meant what I thought they did...I didn't really want to think about it until I could be sure. I needed to see Sam. I had to know for sure. Otherwise me calling up Angela, whom I had just met, would be a very, very bad decision.

Her name swam into my thoughts clouding every care until she was all I could see. I was driving way too fast and I mumbled to the empty car, "Sorry, Charlie. Breaking the law seems pretty irrelevant just now. I've got bigger problems to deal with." How could this be happening. Hadn't I told Bella myself that it was the rare exception that we would imprint on someone. Come to think of it though, a lot of things had become the exception to the rule. Leah Clearwater, for instance. No one saw that coming.

Leah. I thought of what it must have been like for her losing Sam to her cousin -practically her sister. She let us all know time and again how bitter she was about it. We all shared those emotions with her when we ran as a pack. Hopefully time would heal those wounds. As much as I hated to think about imprinting-it seemed to me unfair to not be able to choose your soul mate- I hoped that it would happen for Leah. I wanted her to be happy as much for her as for the rest of us. None of the others wanted to spend years dwelling on the drama surrounding Sam, Emily and her.

I tried to think of other things. I didn't want this to be happening to me. A voice in my head that sounded too much like Edward's said, "You know it's true, though. What else could it be."

"Oh, shut up would you!" I screamed to thin air. I don't know anything yet.

The facts were weighing down on me now. The closer I got to Emily's house, where I knew Sam would be, the more things seemed to make sense. When I woke up this morning on the forest floor I had no one on my mind but Bella. My intention had been to try just once more to talk her out of running off with Edward and to try to convince her that she belonged with me. I wanted nothing more than to see her face to face and press my lips to hers. What had happened? All that seemed a lifetime away. In less than 12 hours those feelings now seemed like they belonged to someone else; a stranger's feelings that meant almost nothing to me.

I _did_ still love Bella, but this must be the way she felt about me. She had done her best to impress that upon me, but being the stubborn ass I was I hadn't listened. Now I understood all too well.

"Just don't think about it. Think of something else," I tried to reason with myself.

Hmm. Something else. _Angela_. Her body seemed to fit against mine so well when I caught her up in my arms; mistaking her for Bella. She smelled so good. I thought her scent must still be on my clothes. I breathed in deep and I could imagine the way her mouth must taste.

Ugh! I was doing it again.

I was at Emily's before I knew it. I wasn't even sure how I got there, but I swung open the front door without knocking and sprinted into the living room. Sam looked up wide eyed from the sofa where he had his arm around Em. She simply smiled and I sat down next to her, turning to face them both. The couch was not as small as the one at Charlie's, but with Sam and I on either side of her, Emily was scrunched into a little ball.

Before Sam could speak I blurted out, "Tell me about imprinting. Everything."

Sam's mouth hung open for a split second and then turned into a huge patronizing grin. "Who is she?" he said in a near sing-song voice.

"I need to know, Sam. Now."

"Bella?" Emily asked. She was leaning in even closer to me. Her scars shined a little in the dim light of the television. "Weren't you with her today? Is it Bella?"

She wasn't trying to contain the excitement in her voice. She really liked Bella. I hated to let her down.

"No."

Emily leaned back and she smiled a sorrowful smile trying to make it look sincerely happy. "Sorry," she said in a whisper.

"Are you gonna say something, Sam or are you gonna force me to talk to Quil? I'd really rather hear it from you."

"What do you want to know?"

The night seemed to drag on forever. Questions and answers flew around the room rapid fire quick. I pictured the three of us as two wolves and Red Riding Hood buzzing in on a TV game show and giggled like a kid. I was so tired I was delirious.

By the time the sun started it's slow crawl into the dreary Washington sky most of my suspicions had been confirmed.

_Angela. _

The sound of her name in my head sent electric waves coursing through my body. I never would have thought it in a million years. I was ready to accept anything now. My world was about to be turned upside down. There was no way around it. It excited me to my core.

I would sleep a few hours at Emily's out of necessity (all I really wanted to do was get as close as I could to Angela-for now I would settle for another vivid dream) and then go home to talk with Billy for a bit.

Guess I could make that phone call after all.


	7. Chances Taken

Chances Taken

I woke up smiling. I'd been smiling so much my face hurt. I couldn't help it. I'd dreamed of her again, of my Angela. That's how I thought of her already. There was no point in denying it anymore. I imprinted on her. Her face would be etched on my heart forever.

A thought crossed my mind that I hadn't had before. Would she accept me? Would she feel about me the way Emily felt about Sam?

Oh, God. What if she didn't want me, couldn't love me? What if she did? What would the consequences of loving a werewolf be for her? I resigned myself to think that the dream had been a premonition. It would be too cruel of fate to do that; to make me desire her more than life and then dangle her like a shiny bauble in front of a child...too far out of reach to even hope to touch.

When I left Em's she and Sam were already gone. I scrawled a "thank you" on a scrap of paper and left it on the kitchen table. Emily was constantly cooking for some of us, so she'd be sure to see it there.

Billy was on the phone when I came home. He looked up at me and held up a hand in a gesture that meant he had something to say to me, so I should stick around for a second.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, hold on Charlie. He just walked in. I'll ask him."

Whoops. I turned to the fridge and hid my face behind the door so Billy wouldn't see me grinning. I hoped that Dad's best friend and the local chief of police wouldn't rat me out for speeding last night, if he was even aware of it himself.

"I'm gonna watch the game at Charlie's this afternoon and then were gonna go grab some dinner. Do you have plans or did you wanna go see Bella maybe?" There seemed to be more behind his question than he let on.

Bella wasn't the person I was so desperate to see.

"I can give you a ride there if you want, but I, uh..." I should have been thinking quicker and had a story ready. "I thought I'd go see what Embry and Quil were doing." He squinted at me, scrutinizing my actions and words. He kept his eyes on me when he put the receiver back to his ear and finalized his and Charlie's plans. It was only another minute or so when he hung up the phone and wheeled himself right up to where I was standing.

"You and Bella didn't have another falling out did you?"

"No, nothing like that. I just have...some things to take care of today." I tried to sound confident in my half-lie. I hoped he would drop the subject and take my word for it.

He didn't. He continued to stare at me the way a parent does when they're trying to get their kids to spill their guts to them. It was a look that said "You might as well tell the truth, because I'm not letting this go until you do."

I gave in. He would know everything soon enough. I might as well let him in on what my sweet dilemma was now, so I didn't have to waste time later that could be better spent.

I told him everything.

"I thought I wanted Bella, Dad. Maybe I did. But not like this. I want this girl more than anything I've ever wanted in my life. I crave her." I closed my eyes remembering the dream of her mouth on mine.

Billy turned a little red and cleared his throat. "I see."

I was embarrassing him. I laughed to myself. Maybe I should play up the details -a little revenge for the "widow Reed" comment he'd made the other morning.

He looked very uncomfortable, but he was hanging in there; determined to be a confidant for his only son. I decided not to make it a completely miserable experience for him and tried not to say anything else to set him squirming in his chair.

He listened to all I had to say and without missing a beat he told me I should follow my heart. If I was imprinting on Angela, or if I already had, then I shouldn't waste any time.

"Life's too short to spend even a second alone, when you could be with the person you love." Billy was always saying things like that. I had never noticed before how often he was right.

Charlie arrived before I could think of a way to thank Billy for his advice. Billy smiled and said, "Good luck," before he rolled out the door to meet Charlie in the yard. I took that as my signal that the coast was clear for me to use the phone.

I rummaged through the little cabinet by the phone for the directory. "Please don't let me scare her off," I pleaded out loud. I found it and thumbed through the worn pages to the listings for Weber. Dang. I didn't even know her parents' names and I was pretty sure she wouldn't be listed herself unless she was one of those spoiled kids who had their own line. She didn't strike me as that type. I called every Weber in the book. On the thirteenth try I heard a voice that was vaguely familiar say, "Hello, Weber residence."

"May I speak to Angela...please." I was sweating. The voice on the other end, Angela's mother I guessed, said something that I assumed was, "Just a minute." I couldn't tell for sure, because my heart was pounding so loudly in my ears. Deep breaths, I told myself.

"Hello?" My angel's voice.

I hung up the phone. I was hyperventilating. I should have planned what I was going to say. Oh crap. What if she laughs at me? She barely knows who I am.

The phone rang in my hands and I flung it away like it was a snake. It rang on the other side of the living room and I jumped the coffee table to get to it. I answered before it could ring again. "Huh-hello?" I was still having a hard time making my lungs work.

"Jacob?" the voice on the line was Angela's. I heard the confusion in it and kicked myself...literally. If I bruised easily that would leave a mark.

"Angela...hi. Sorry, I...uh..I dropped the phone and we must have gotten disconnected. How are you?"

"Hi, Jacob," she said it with a stifled laugh. _Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God._

"Are you there? Jacob?"

"Oh, sorry. Yeah I'm here. Listen, I just wanted to apologize for the other day." My words ran together. I was talking too fast; trying to get my words out before I lost my thought. I was having a hard time holding back what I _wanted_ to say, but I didn't think it would be wise just yet to profess my undying love for her.

"What are you apologizing for?"

Her question caught me off guard. I reached for an answer, thinking as quickly as I could with my head in such a fuzz.

"Any other girl would have been offended or at least a little embarrassed by some random guy grabbing them in a bear hug in the middle of a bunch of her friends. You don't think I should apologize?"

I bit my lip. Did that come out wrong?

"Is that all?" she laughed softly again.

"I just thought I'd better let you know that I don't do that all the time. I mean I didn't want you to get the wrong impression of me?

"Why would I get the wrong impression? You thought I was Bella and you were just showing her you cared," there was a hint of something in her voice I couldn't decipher.

"I still feel like I need to apologize. Even if it had been Bella I'd still be apologizing. I was out of line. I hope you can forgive me."

"Um, why would you have to apologize to her? I don't understand. I can't imagine why she'd be upset about something like that coming from her...from her friend," she said the last part in a whisper.

"Well, that's a long story I won't bother you with. Just know that I didn't mean to act like a big Neanderthal jerk yesterday."

I didn't know how much longer I could keep making small talk. I wanted to see her face to face, but with the difficulty I was having keeping my emotions to myself on the phone I thought it would be near impossible to keep from throwing myself at her in person. I was at a loss for how to ask her out, so it didn't matter.

"Hey, don't worry about it really. You didn't have to call just for that."

"Oh...well...sorry to bother you," I tried not to sound dejected, but before I broke down completely she spoke.

"Listen, I was on my way to the beach-"

"Okay. It was nice talking to you." I moved to hang up the phone. My eyes were stinging and there was a burning in my throat.

"Wait! You didn't let me finish," I pulled the phone back to my ear. If I'd been holding on to it any harder it would be a pile of wires and broken plastic.

"I _was_ on my way to the beach, but my company flaked. I was just getting ready to go by myself, but I'd love to have someone to talk to." It sounded like an invitation and my head was spinning. I wanted to make sure I didn't misunderstand.

"Are you asking me to join you?" I held my breath waiting to be rejected.

"Would you mind? I'd love it if you would. My mom's been playing warden since the bear sightings. If she knows I'm not alone I'll be able to make an easy escape." I could hear the smile in her voice and I melted at her words.

"Sure, sure. First Beach? Twenty minutes?" It came out way too enthusiastic, but I didn't care. I was getting the chance to be with Angela, and _she_ was the one who invited _me_. My hands were shaking. I was sweating so hard I would have to shower before heading down to the beach.

The minutes were dragging on. I had showered, dressed and drove down to the beach in less that 15 minutes. I almost wished I had taken my time so that I wouldn't have to drive myself crazy worrying that Angela would change her mind and not show after all. I looked at my phone debating on calling her to make sure she was still coming. A car was pulling off the road when I looked up and my heart caught in my throat. It was her.

My knees threatened to buckle so I leaned casually against the door of my car. Angela was smiling and I smiled back. I could feel the blood warming my face. I hoped she was far enough away to miss the color changing in my cheeks. Calm down. Don't blow this. I ordered myself to get some maintain some control.

As soon as she rolled to a stop, I was at her door. I thought I for a second that I would have to run to the other side of the beach to keep from picking her up and kissing her right then and there. I kept my composure, but just barely. I felt like an idiot because I couldn't stop grinning. I saw that she was still smiling, too so I didn't fight it.

If I had been a stranger watching the two of us I would have thought it strange that neither of us even said "hello" to the other before we started walking down to the shore. I felt so comfortable just being near her that I didn't question it from where I stood. Her eyes lit up when she looked over at me and I was mesmerized. I watched her mouth move to speak and I wanted her so badly I was nearly overpowered by desire to throw her down in the sand and show her how much I needed her. I fought back my wants and listened for what she was about to say.

"I don't know what's happening here, Jacob," her face was calm, but there was a strange look in her eyes. "I've never been very out spoken, and I don't really even know you, but I feel safe with you," she blushed. "Does that sound stupid?"

God how I wanted her.

"No. I know what you mean," and that was the honest truth.

"It's like I'm walking in a dream and you're having the same one. Like I'm connected to you in some way that I don't understand."

I nodded in acknowledgment. I _did_ understand, but it wasn't the right time to explain it to her.

_Oh, that's the animal attraction you feel toward me, Angela. See, I'm a werewolf and you're my soul mate. _

No, I should probably save that for our second date.


	8. One Small Step For Man

One Small Step for Man

I could barely contain the excitement building within me. Angela-the literal girl of my dreams-was confessing to me that she was feeling the same way about me. It was all so surreal. I wanted to reach out and take her hand so she wouldn't get any farther away from me. She was barely a foot from me now, but it wasn't close enough. I would gladly super glue her to my side; if that were probable and she were willing. I smiled wider at the thought of her dangling happily from my side like we were a pair from the freak show. With me the idea wasn't too far off.

I slowed down when I noticed that she was taking twice as many steps as me to keep with my stride. Then I stopped walking. I waited for the nightmare to come and chase the dream away. My smile faded at the thought. Fate _was_ cruel. Just look how it had turned my world upside down. Leah and Sam were the perfect example of how fate could tease someone with happy ever after and then yank it away for reasons unknown.

Angela had gotten a few steps ahead of me when she, too, stopped in her tracks and turned back to face me.

"What's the matter? Are you all right?"

The nightmare would have to put up one hell of a fight if it came lurking here. I would walk through the flames for my angel. Nothing would keep her from me.

"Sorry. I just got lost in thought," I confessed. Angela nodded and smiled.

"That seems to happen to me a lot lately," she muttered under her breath. If my hearing hadn't been so keen I might have missed it.

"So, what were you thinking about?"

"Dreams," I blurted out when her gaze caught mine. If she only knew what power she had over me just by looking in my eyes.

"Hmmm."

"You dream much?" I was trying to get her to say more. I needed the music of her voice. It would echo through my dreams tonight.

"I dreamed of you last night...Oh-my-God! Ican'tbelieveIjustsaidthatoutloud!," her face turned purple and she put her hands over her mouth.

"_**Rea-lly**_?" I teased. This was too good to be true. I wondered if she would 'fess up to some details. Did she dream the same dream I did? Maybe that was part of the imprinting process for me.

"Yes," her hands were still at her mouth and muffled the word. Her eyes were smiling, though.

"And would you like to share your thoughts on the matter," I did my best Freudian accent with one arm crossed over my chest and stroking my chin with the thumb and forefinger of my other hand.

"You first," she said laughing and she tripped over a stone on the beach. I was laughing so hard at her that I didn't move quick enough to catch her. -just quick enough to get tangled in her grasping arms and fall right on top of her. I caught myself before my weight crushed her and saw that my nose was touching hers. I didn't blink. I was trying to control my breathing. She had to be able to feel my heart threatening to jump out of my chest.

I closed my eyes, because I knew that if I looked into hers I wouldn't be able to control myself.

"Jake?" she sounded breathless. Maybe the fall had knocked the wind out of her, or I wasn't holding my weight off of her as much as I should.

"Yeah?" I didn't open my eyes.

In an instant their were fireworks exploding in my head. My skin was on fire, hotter than I had ever been, even now when my temperature was way above normal. Angela's mouth was crushed against mine. Her hands were on my back and she was pulling me to her. My eyes popped open and at the same time, so did hers. I was lost in them. She looked at me so intensely that I thought I was going to die. I willed myself not to lose control, but I didn't know for how long. I was delirious. Totally, utterly lost in her eyes.

The kiss seemed to be endless. I closed my eyes again. Without knowing how it had happened and as suddenly as it started it was over. I moved to the side of Angela and lay on my back beside her. Neither of us spoke immediately as we were both still very out of breath.

The sound of our breathing evened out as if we were one being not two. I turned my head to look at her and she was staring back at me. Both of us smiled and she reached out and took my hand in hers.

This was all happening so fast and I didn't know how to slow it down now. I didn't want to.

Please...God or fate or whatever brought us together...don't take this away from me. I'll die without her.

Angela smiled at me,still unable to catch her breath enough to say anything, and turned her face to the sky. I did the same and the first raindrops splashed on our entwined hands. An anointing. I sighed heavily and squeezed her hand. She gripped mine tighter and I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks.

I was more happy than I had ever been in my life. Confused and thrilled at once, I felt complete. I didn't know where to go from here, but I knew we would figure it out. I wondered quietly how much I could tell her now. I was bursting to tell her everything.

We had years ahead of us. There was so much I had to learn about her and she about me. There was no need to rush anything, but if our first meetings were any indication of what the future held, the truth would come out very soon. I rose to my feet when the rain intensified, pulling Angela gently from the ground.

"I don't know the why or how of all this, Jacob. I don't care. Something bigger than the both of us is working here and I'm not going to be the one to stop it," she looked at me with pleading eyes as if to ask if I was going to stop it.

I took her face in both my hands. "You're going to have an impossible time getting rid of me. And you're right. This isn't in my hands any more than yours. I couldn't stop loving you now if I wanted to."

Her eyes widened with shock at my words. "You love me?"

"Yes, I do," I said with all certainty.

"God knows I love you, Jacob Black. Maybe this is wrong, but I do love you. I feel like I've known you all my life and maybe even before"

When I thought about her, even when she was no where around, I felt like my soul left my body. I was walking on air. This was something I had no experience with minus my time with Bella and there was no comparison there. I felt like I was in another world. I could have been on the moon for all I cared, as long as Angela could be there with me.

"So. I'd really like to ask you out sometime. Do you think you'll say yes?" I kicked the rocks at my feet.

Angela laughed her sweet laugh.

"I'll have to think about it," she said seriously. She put her hands on my chest and stretched up on her toes to kiss me. I bent down to meet her lips and the fireworks were back.

"We've got to be careful with that, you know?"

"Yes, unfortunately you're right. I don't think my skull is fireproof and when you kiss me it's the Fourth of July in there."

I stared at her open mouthed. She saw them, too. What did _that_ mean?


	9. Rain Sweet Rain

Rain Sweet Rain

The rain began to fall harder and I wished I had been born in some place where the sun and moon could shine without the clouds being an ever present nuisance. I didn't want to part with Angela already, but the chance that she would want to stay here on the beach in a down pour were slim to none. I held her hand tightly in mine and began pulling her with me back to our cars. She pulled back.

"Not yet, Jacob. You seem ready to go back to the real world, but I don't want to just yet."

I was wrong. I should know by now that things in my world seldom followed the rules set forth for them to follow. Why should the girl I love be any different? I only had to smile at her and she understood that I wasn't eager to leave either.

"Should we just stand here in the rain and get soaked? Or do you have something stranger in mind?" I was hoping for the latter.

"Why not stranger?" she led me back slowly to the edge of the water and we walked the coast line as if it was dry outside and the sun had not gone into hiding. I followed a little behind her, watching as she moved as graceful as any vampire "friend" of Bella's I had ever seen. That was something I had to give them credit for. Of bloodsucker I had seen so far, none of them had been clumsy.

That thought inspired another that sent me nearly into hysterics. Bella was _soooo_ clumsy, how would she ever make it through eternity falling all over the place and impaling herself with God only knows what?

"What's tickled your funny bone?" Angela was giggling nervously. I must have looked crazy, laughing at myself for no apparent reason, and that made me laugh even harder.

"Did I do something?" Now she looked a bit self-conscious and I felt I'd better let her in on the joke. Girls could be so over critical of themselves. It must apply to even the perfect ones, I thought.

"I was just thinking about Bella," I didn't think of how that would sound until the words left my mouth.

"Oh," her hand went limp in mine and dropped to her side.

"No, nothing like that. It's just that you're so...well, I was just watching you walk. You glide along so easily. Then I thought about how it was a wonder that Bella even got through the day as clumsy as she is."

That explanation didn't seem to suffice. I had only made things worse by bringing up _her_ name for the second time in less than as many minutes. Jeez, had I really made it sound like I was comparing the two of them...Yep, it did sound that way when I thought of it from her perspective. After all, that's how this all started; with me looking for Bella---at Angela's house, no less.

Angela put a little more space between us and I heard her sigh. She was looking out over the water past the crashing waves. Her beautiful hair and clothes were soaked, dripping wet from the weather we shouldn't be out in. She had her arms wrapped around her in a way I remembered Bella doing when Edward had left her in so much pain. Though the rain washed down her face, I thought I could make out a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Come here," it wasn't a request. I wouldn't let anything ruin what had been such a perfect, albeit strange, day. She barely moved, but the fact that it was to me and not away gave me all the hope I needed. This wasn't going to be easy. Fate let me do all the screwing up this time. _Ha-ha_. Pretty crappy cosmic joke. I usually didn't need help messing things up.

I made up the short distance between us and pulled her into an embrace. She shivered against me, my warmth reminding her body how cold she was getting. She didn't resist me, instead she laid her head against my chest and let me hold her.

"I need to tell you some things that are going to be hard for me to explain and even harder for you to hear, but I think that's the only way I'm gonna clear this up. I'm a stupid _guy_, Angela," I tried to be funny, even though that's exactly how I felt. She smiled a weak smile, but didn't look up at me."I wanted to wait until we had known each other a little longer and you trusted me more, but I think I _have_ to tell you now. I don't want to keep secrets from you. Believe me I have some pretty huge secrets, but I won't let them be in the way of what we can become to each other. I'd rather die than hurt you."

"Will you let me explain?" I instinctively knew she would. The longer we were together, the more in-tuned to her I became. I could almost predict what her next moves would be.

She nodded. Her head was pressed tighter against me. "But,Jacob? Can we get out of the rain first? I'm freezing..." her teeth chattered when she said "freezing" and my laughter made the both of us shake.

We walked back in the direction of the cars when we should have been running, but she wanted to drag out our time together as much as I did. I looked to her at my side to see that she was now miserably wet and her teeth were clinched together with the chill she felt from the wind. I scooped her up in my arms and she squealed.

"Next time...warn me...before...you...do that!" she was shaking,so I went faster along the beach holding her as close as I could without hurting her.

Her car was much newer and with much nicer upholstery than mine,so I made the snap decision and sat her down in the passenger side of my car.

"There's a rain coat in my backseat," she said without so much tremor in her voice as before.

"Anything else?" I didn't see what good a rain coat would do after she was already soaked to the bone.

"Well, I hadn't planned on making out with a gorgeous stranger in a down pour until next Tuesday, so I guess I forgot to pack a change of clothes," there was no venom in her little sarcastic remark so I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Do you always roll on the ground with good looking strangers in deserted places?"

"Oh, heck yeah. All the time. Are you going to get in or just stand out in the rain and make fun of me?"

"Which would make you happier?" I was teasing her, but in truth I would submit to her every demand.

"Hurry up and get in here. Both of us don't need pneumonia, and I believe you had lots of dirty laundry you wanted to air out, right?" She pulled the door shut and leaned across the driver's seat to open mine. I knocked on her window. She jumped and looked out at me. I made the motion for her to roll it down, but she cracked the door open.

"What are you doing?"

"You didn't answer my question. Would it make you happier if I stood out here?"

She smiled and her whole face lit up. "Just get in here, silly boy."

I slid in the car and got the heater going. I didn't need it, but Angela was still cold and her clothes weren't going to dry themselves. I reached into the back and grabbed a pair of jogging pants I kept there just in case I had to phase unexpectedly and ruined the clothes I was wearing at the time. I dropped them in Angela's lap.

"Here. These will probably swallow you whole, but at least they're dry. Do you want me to get out so you can-" I lost my thought.

Angela was already wiggling out of her wet jeans and shirt. "You _can_ turn your head, Jacob. It would be ridiculous of me to make you wait in the rain again."

I barely broke my gaze on her half bare legs when she pulled her arms out of the clinging shirt . "Really, Jacob. I'm dying to see you shirtless, too, but now's not how I pictured it would be."

I didn't look away. "So you've thought about me naked?"

"I...umm...Jacob, turn your head," her face was bright pink.

I conceded and turned away. My skin was tingling all over. Her wet skin smelled delicious. I had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real.

_If this is a dream, then shouldn't I be the one in control of what happens? In that case, maybe just a peek-------To Late..._

By the time I looked back, Angela had shimmied out of her wet clothes. I suddenly was thankful for so much rain. Now she was wearing a thin red rain jacket and my pants. It was almost too funny not to laugh at, but at the same time strangely erotic. Perhaps that was just my hormones talking. After all, there _was_ a half naked girl in my car until seconds ago. She was still naked, only she was covered by some soft and thin fabric that shouldn't be too hard for a wolf like me to help her out of.

_Calm down, Jake. Be a gentleman. What would she say if she could see what you were thinking?_

"Me, too," she said, "but don't you think it would be better if we did get to know each other first? Just a little, anyway?"

The way she was looking at me I knew what she was talking about. How could she know what I was thinking? Maybe there was a lot to Angela that didn't show through the beautiful surface.

I had secrets. She had talents. We had lots to talk about.


	10. Losing It

_I apologize for making you wait. I know what it's like to be hungry for more of your fave story and have to endure minutes, hours, days gasp for more chapters._

_All characters and the glorious **Twilight** world belongs to Stephanie Meyers, whom I don't happen to be. sigh Only the story line that follows is my creation. Enjoy!_

Losing It

"Angela, what did you mean just now?" I was confused. I hadn't said anything out loud, had I? I was trying to be conspicuous when I looked at her. Maybe she just figured I must be thinking what any guy would in my place. Who could help looking at her, sitting there pulling off her wet clothes only a foot away?

"You were having some very naughty thoughts about me weren't you?" She said it matter-of-fact.

"Umm...," I was caught. Now surely she was going to lecture me on the right order of things. Guy asks girl out. Girl says yes. First date. Second date. yadda yadda yadda...

She didn't look mad, but how many girls want a guy to think they move as fast as she and I had today? Angela was not that kind of girl, and I knew that. I hoped _she_ knew how I felt. Had I come on too strong? Oh, man, I was gonna screw it all up after all.

"It's okay. I was thinking the same thing, maybe even with a little more detail than you."

"What?" There went my theory out the window.

"You _do_ have lots to tell me, but I don't think you'll have to explain as much to me as you think."

The rain drummed steadily on the roof of the car. I looked out the window while she fastened the rain coat around her. She reached for my hand and held it securely, reassuringly with hers. That slowed the nagging worry that had begun to grow in me.

"I don't know _why_ you think that, but I have an idea, and I hope you're right. I hope you're as open minded as you seem, because this is all going to sound very strange. I searched her face, but she showed no signs of apprehension as to what I might be ready to confess.

"How close are you and Bella?" Angela's eyes shifted to our intertwined hands and back to me. She picked at the fuzz on the arm rest where our hands lay as she spoke.

"Not as close as the two of you, I suspect," there was a hint of acceptance in her voice, as though she had come to terms with a relationship that unknown to her never really grew into something substantial.

I squeezed her hand gently and chided her,"It's not like that, Angela. It never was, for Bella anyway."

Angela looked out the window to hide the hurt in her eyes. I could see her reflection.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Angela. There was a time that I would have given anything to have Bella where you are now."

"Please, Jacob. I don't think I want to hear anymore right now."

She was weakly trying to pry her hand from my grip. I refused to let her go.

"Just let me finish, Angela. If I can, I want to make you see that there is no way in hell or here on earth that she could ever hope to take your place now."

Angela turned back to face me. "It's not what _she_ wants that worries me," her voice quivered and tears were starting to fall from her beautiful eyes. "That time, not so long ago, was yesterday, wasn't it?"

"It seems like years ago, but yes, it was. I know this is hard to hear, but please try to listen to the whole story. This may take awhile. Will you stay with me and hear me out, please?"

"My mind's wide open, Jacob. Just hurry to the part where you tell me that you love me, okay?" she smiled a small smile but her eyes brightened with hope.

"I love **you**, Angela. Bella and I will never be anymore than close friends. I see that clearly now and I accept it readily. What's between us, _you and I, _is stronger than any bond she and I could ever have had. I would do almost anything for her because she is my friend and I love her, but only as a friend. That's all we'll ever be, promise."

"Almost anything? What wouldn't you do for her?" her question was sincere, not one formed out of jealousy.

"I could never offer her my heart, it already belongs to someone else." She pressed her lips to mine as if she knew what I was planning a second before I did. Fireworks again.

_Stop_. A voice in my head, one I didn't recognize, urged me on. I was explaining something to Angela...what was it? Her lips were so soft but forceful. _STOP! You have to tell her everything. _Oh, yeah, right. Where was I?

I ended the kiss gently and leaned back against my door. Angela seemed to know what I meant to do and she turned more in her seat so that she was completely facing me now. She was listening intently.

I told her about the first time I met Bella, here on this very beach. I told her every story I had told Bella that day, emphasizing the fact that Bella had been most interested in "the Cold Ones." Angela stayed silent while I worked my way easily through the months when Bella suddenly started coming often to La Push to visit me. I confessed that I knew she was using me to buffer the pain that Edward had caused her when he left, and that I took advantage of the situation as much as possible. She grinned once or twice in agreement as if to say that she could understand why I had done some of the stupid things I had.

"Now can you understand why things are the way they are for Bella and me? It's complicated and it would have been just as twisted I think even if not for Edward."

"What is it that you have against him?" I cringed a little at his name on her lips. "Did he do something to you or does it all have to do with Bella? I saw you that day at school. I was afraid somebody was going to spill some blood by the way you two looked at each other."

I threw back my head and laughed,"Oh, baby, if you only knew how right on the mark you were." Then I wouldn't have to talk to her about Edward. He and I could be on better terms now that Bella was his alone, but we would never- ever be anything close to friends.

"Then get on with it. I know there's plenty more to tell, I just want to hear all the details from you."

There was excitement in her eyes. I had to look away before they burned right through me.

"Umm, where was I? Oh, yeah,_ Eddie_," I tried very hard not to mask the sarcasm in my voice. I told her as much as I could without tying in the fact that he was a bloodsucker. I was doing my best to paint Cullen as the evil bastard I knew he was without seeming too biased in my view of him. I had hurried through my words as fast as I could when I noticed Angela doing something very strange. She kept leaning in closer to me as I talked and now she closed her eyes and drew in a long breath through her nose. She mumbled something inaudible except for the last few words. They were quiet but clear.

"...smells so good."

"Uh, thanks. That's my own creation," I joked. "I call it _Jacob au natural._

"What?" she snapped back to reality.

"You were just enjoying my manly scent," I chuckled. "and I was just getting to the good part."

"Oh, sorry." She smiled apologetically and I kissed the end of her nose.

"It's all right. I might even be flattered, except for all I know you probably sniff all the guys you know."

She punched my arm, luckily not hard enough to injure herself. That was a perk to being a werewolf. Girly punches felt like a cotton ball being thrown at you from a distance. Good quality to have if you have an abusive girlfriend. I laughed at my inside joke. I'd have to mention it to Angela if I _ever_ got around to telling her the whole truth and nothin' but the truth.

I found my train of thought and continued my bashing of the bloodsucker, trying to get my point across. Some of what _I_ did was really _his_ fault, I was only acting to protect Bella.

Angela was leaning closer than before now. Her nose was nearly buried in my shirt collar before I noticed what she was doing. She _was_ sniffing me now. Before I got the chance to ask her what she was doing and harass her for making a lame joke, her mouth was on my neck, caressing the tender skin there and moving to my ear. She took my face in her hands and lunged at me. She kissed me with more ferocity than I would have ever given her credit for. I thought I would come out of my skin.

She pulled back to look in my eyes. Hers were smoldering. A fire burned behind them and there was something feral about them I hadn't seen before.

"I want you, Jacob. Maybe too much for my own good." Her breath was hot on my skin.

I slid my hands into her hair. _Stop. Not now. You have so much more to tell her. _That damned voice again. _You can't let this happen, not yet! STOP!_

I pulled her away, which should have been easy, but she was not so willing to let me go and she clung to me. She looked through me to my very soul. A chill ran over me. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.

"I want this to happen now, Jacob. If you don't stop me, if this keeps up, I'm afraid we'll be attending our own shotgun wedding soon." She looked drunk with lust. Her breath was ragged.

"Suits me," I growled and I went for her throat. I kissed her with an urgency I had never felt before.

_This is wrong. _The voice again. Why did it sound so much like Sam? _You have to stop. _

_Control yourself, because she has lost all of hers. _My conscious screamed at me. I knew deep down that I couldn't let this happen yet, but I didn't care. The angel and the devil in me were threatening civil war, screaming at me as well as one another.

"I want to, Jacob, now," she was breathless. Her words were barely a whisper.

"But we can't," I finished her thought.

"We can," she said.

"But we shouldn't," I countered.

I was coming back to reason. The voice was right. There was too much at stake right now to be overtaken by lust.

"No."

I didn't know if she was agreeing with me or arguing her point. I tried to lift her back to her side of the car, but she scrambled onto my lap and her hands ran from my chest downward. She moved her legs so that she sat facing me straddling my thighs. Her tongue licked across my lips and pushed between them. She was making this difficult. As strong as I was I had a hard time pulling her away from me. I fought with the desire to let her go as far as she would, but the voice kept screaming for me to stop her. I finally gave in to the voice.

"Angela, stop," I half-pleaded with her. She answered by unbuttoning my pants.

I grabbed her wrists roughly. "Angela, we can't do this now. God knows how much I'd like to rip your clothes off right here, but we can't. We have too much to talk about."

She looked hurt for a second and then laid her head on my shoulder. Her lips brushed my ear. "Please, Jacob?" she whispered in her velvety voice. "You can make me yours right now." The last part sounded like a demand.

_Don't give in. You have to stop or things will get very complicated. You have to tell her everything first._

I didn't know why, but suddenly I was angry with her. I caught her face between both my hands. She looked so fragile, yet so fierce.

"Listen to yourself, Angela. I barely know you, but I know enough to say with certainty that this isn't something you would normally do, would you?"

"Maybe this is normal for me now; when I'm with you it's like I'm on some super drug. I lose all my inhibitions...and you smell so good."

_Smell? The wild look in her eyes...Oh, God. __**Phermones**_She was reacting to the chemicals my werewolf side was producing. She was reacting strongly to it, yes, but I imagined that was because I had imprinted on her and it was part of our connection. I would have to ask Sam...and Emily. I was a little embarrassed to think of even asking Em something so personal, but she could better tell me what was going on with Angela.

I had unknowingly loosened my grip on Angela's wrists. I heard a familiar sound and realized that she had unzipped my pants and was proceeding to try and remove them completely.

"NO! Angela! Stop!"

I pulled her up and away from me and sat her down firmly in the passenger seat. I was seething now. I wasn't as much angry with her, but at myself. I was unwillingly doing this to her. I should have taken this into consideration. But how was I to know this would go so far. Bella had never even seemed to be bothered by my strong wolf hormones. That made sense now that I knew who I was supposed to affect...Angela. I couldn't let her do something she'd regret later. No matter how bad I wanted to be with her that way.

She was persistent. She fought against me, trying to get back to what she had started.

I couldn't imagine Emily and Sam going through this. Maybe this wasn't what was suppose to happen. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't just throw her in her car and drive away. What if distance didn't help? She was in no shape to drive anywhere in the state she was in.

I shouted the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm all yours, Angela! Use me any way you want without consideration for my feelings. Then you can throw me away, just like Bella!"

Angela's eyes widened in a pained expression and she sat very still. I knew that would hit a nerve. Something had to bring her down--back to earth for a minute so I could figure out what to do next.

She wasn't still for long. Her mouth curved into the most beautiful smile and her eyes glowed. She moved to my side again, her mouth to my ear.

"Make love to me, Jacob. That's all I want. You want me, too, don't you?"

I yanked her back so I could look in her eyes. I was growing impatient.

"Ah, here I thought you were my angel, but you're acting more like the devil with each minute that passes," I chuckled although I was dead serious.

She tried to wriggle free from my grasp and I shook her.

"Fine, Angela! Let's be stupid for a minute. That's all it'll take. You take the werewolf's virginity and I'll do my best to get you pregnant. How's that for a story to tell the parent's?

Hey, Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Jacob Black. He came by the house looking for another girl he was after, and knocked me up in his car the next day. Oh, and he's a monster sometimes, literally."

She looked shocked. Great. That worked out well.

"You're a virgin?"

"OH-MY-GOD, ANGELA!!! I just told you the honest to God's truth, my biggest secret, that I AM a WEREWOLF and you're concerned with whether I've bedded anybody before?

Are you crazy?!"

"No, I'm not crazy. I'm just not very shocked is all. It makes sense," she was way too calm.

My head was spinning. I didn't know whether to laugh at the way she handled the enormity of the situation, or cry with relief that she knew now and she hadn't run away screaming from the "lunatic". At least she wasn't trying to rape me for the moment.


	11. No Surprises

"You're starting to freak me out a little, Angela?"

She threw her head back and laughed,"I'm freaking you out? Shouldn't I be the one running from you?"

"That's what's freaking me out. I'm glad your not, but at the same time I'm a little worried about what that means."

She shook her head, smiling. "Are you gonna be one of those hard to please boyfriends?"

"Is _that_ how you think of me? I sure hope so, otherwise I might have been offended when you were trying to get in my pants."

She punched my arm again. "Don't bring that up please. Unless you _**want**_ me in your pants. Do you?" She wrapped her arm around mine and snuggled close to my shoulder. "How could Bella not have wanted you? You smell good enough to eat.Mmm," she she was smelling my shirt again.

"You know I do. I want you more than anything, but I'm not willing to risk losing you that way."

"What are you rambling on about? I know what you are, wolf-boy. I'm not bothered by it, but you are and I think that's hilarious," she never moved her head from my shoulder. I realized she was too close and pulled her up to face me.

"Pheromones, Angela."

"What about them?"

"That's why you want me so badly right now. It's my scent that's driving you off the deep end. For some reason they affect you stronger than anyone else I've been close to. I want to know why first, before I act on my impulses. I want you to want me this way just because you do, not because you're overpowered by something I have no control over. Okay?" I almost hoped she argued with me. Then if things got hot again, I could just blame the forces of nature.

"You're serious? I don't know about all that, Jacob. I wanted you the first time you spoke to me, and I didn't notice the scent of you then. Maybe I get more..._excited_ because of that, but believe me...I do want you." That wanting showed in her eyes.

"I believe that you do, I just don't want to take advantage of the fact without knowing how you might feel about it later. I'd like to know all I can about what's happening to us. I don't want to fly blind into a relationship like this. We should talk to someone who has been through this already."

I waited for her reaction. This was all foreign territory to her, and I was someone she barely knew. I would understand if she wasn't ready to jump in head first.

"That's understandable. I'm glad you feel that way. I want to know what's going on, too. It's just that it's kind of hard for me to think of anything else right now. You are the **only** thing on my mind. And you're right," she sighed, "I'm usually pretty level headed. Jessica always says that I over think everything. I don't ever rush into things. I'm not what you'd call spontaneous. But ever since we met, things have been different. Besides lusting after you like this, there's something else. It's like I've developed a sixth sense or something."

Angela blushed when she said this, and I thought came back to me; a question she hadn't answered.

"Is that what it is? Once in a while it seems like you've got a direct link to my thoughts. You can't read my mind can you?" Cullen really irked me doing that. It would be different with Angela, but I imagined it would be hard having her know every tiny thought that crossed my mind. I already had a pack of wolves sharing that space. I didn't know if there was any room left for someone else.

"No, it's not like that really. At first I just thought it was my imagination. I was cleaning up after everyone left the shower and all of a sudden I was having this really vivid daydream." She paused and I could tell she was thinking about something.

"It was about you and me," she blushed again. I smiled thinking how strange it was that this little thing that wasn't even real would embarrass her yet she wasn't phased at all by thought of ripping of my clothes a second ago. "Then there are other times, like when you look at me a certain way, and it's like I'm seeing me through your eyes."

"Were you hanging clothes on a line? In the dream I mean."

"Yes! How did you know that?"

"Because I was dreaming the same thing, probably at the same time you were thinking it." Though it didn't make complete sense, the fact that we had some kind of mental link fit with all Sam and Emily had told me the night before about imprinting. Sam had said that when he met Emily he started to dream about her all the time. He found out later that Emily had been having the same dreams. They didn't know if that was normal for the wolves who imprinted because there were so few people to ask about it. None of the Elders could be sure because they had very few details about the less important things the earlier wolves had experienced. And besides that, exceptions to all the "rules" were happening more and more frequently among our new pack.

I told Angela about Sam and Emily and I tried my best to explain everything I knew about imprinting. Again I expected her to be a little upset about having her fate laid out for her, strange as it was, but she readily accepted all I had to say.

"I think maybe the best thing to do is call a pack meeting," I said more to myself than Angela. I went over the details in my mind. The when, what and where were easy. It was deciding who should be there that was tough. Quil's imprinting story was far from what I was experiencing and Claire was just a baby. They wouldn't be much help. Sam and Emily needed to be there along with Jared and Kim. The elders were a must, my dad included. Leah, was going to sulk, no way around it, but she was a big part of Sam and Em's story. I was curious, too, if females imprinted the same way the males did. Leah hadn't as far as I knew, but maybe she we know something we didn't.

"How many of you are there? Werewolves, I mean? When you say pack-"

"They're family, really. Pack sounds like we're some motorcycle gang or something, but it's true to what we are.There are 10 of us. When we're in wolf form we work as a pack. We can read each other's thoughts when we phase. That's part of why I asked if you could read mine. It gets tiresome hearing every little detail of everyone's life pretty fast, but it comes in handy when we need it."

"I want to meet them. Can we go now?" Angela's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Sure, if you're comfortable with that. I was just deciding to call a meeting with all of them anyway. You need to be there. It's about us."

"Do you think they'll like me?" she looked worried.

"I know they will. Besides, even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter to me. You're mine. I don't care what anyone else thinks." I pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard, full on the mouth. She might lose control again, but I'd do my best to resist her. That was something we needed to talk about. I'd never seen Emily or Kim react that way. Why was it happening to Angela?


	12. XTension

X-Tension

The rain began to subside and suddenly the silence in the car was deafening. I could hear my heart pounding in my head and then another rhythm began. It grew louder, stronger and was soon in perfect time with the first. It must have been my imagination. Could her heart have just tuned itself to mine? Was that possible?

A simple test would tell. I kissed her harder, knotting my hands in her hair. Her heart skipped a beat...and mine did, too. This was something new. I wondered if anything else about us would become so synchronized. Her hands were roaming away from my face, and I had my answer. She was just as turned on as I was. Time to put on the brakes. I kissed her lips gently, and and leaned back to my side of the car.

She didn't argue- and I didn't need to restrain her, so I assumed she had gained some amount of self control. I didn't need to ask her if she knew what had just happened. As she brushed a strand of hair from her face, she smiled a knowing smile.

"So, you said something about a meeting we needed to get to?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact I did, didn't I? Is it okay with you if we do it now? You don't have to be home soon, do you?" A devilish grin spread across her angelic face. "What?" Had I said something funny?

"What exactly are you asking me, Jacob?" _Oh. Should have worded that differently. _"Do these seats recline?" She reached under the seat and before I realized what had happened she was lying beside me in her seat. The thin red jacket pulled up high on her thighs. The sweat pants were loose and, whether by accident or intentionally, they were off her legs. She kicked her feet out of them, and then stretched her arms above her head, looking innocently at me. The jacket retreated even higher up her legs.

_Oh, dear God in heaven... Help!_ She was baiting me. I couldn't resist her much longer.

"Angela! Jeez! I'm not Superman!" I gripped the steering wheel tightly. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't look away from her. I pried my hands loose and inhaled deeply. The sweet scent of her skin and hair filled my lungs. I flung open the door and slammed it shut behind me. I peered through the window at her. She had righted the seat and she was leaning against the dash with her head on her arms.

I jerked open my door. "Don't cry! I'm sorry I yel-..." a sound cut me off, "are you laughing?"

She was.

She leaned back and put her hand on her chest. "You are SO easy!" she chuckled. "Guess I know how to get my way with you, huh?"

"Oh, you are SO funny!" I mocked her. "I think it might be best if we got a little fresh air...and put some space between us."

"I'm sorry," she stifled a laugh, "but I couldn't help myself. That seems to be the reoccurring them here, doesn' it?"

I frowned and she fought to keep a straight face.

"I really am sorry. I'll be serious now," she stepped out of the car and had the waist of the pants bunched up in her hands to keep them from falling around her ankles. "About that meeting...I don't have anywhere to be, so let's..._Oh, crap_!"

"What, you do have somewhere to be? It's alright, really," truly it wasn't. I needed to talk to the others now and I wanted her with me. After all, our lives were becoming so entwined that my secrets were hers now. She needed to understand what she was getting into. Plus, I didn't want to give her back just yet. There was so much about her that I didn't know. I was eager to find out what made her tick.

"Ben." She slumped against the car, looking troubled by something she wasn't telling me.

"No, _Jake_. Remember?" I joked. Angela didn't look like _she_ was joking.

"No, Ben," she shook her head, and pulled the pants tighter around her waist. "How do I tell Ben?"

I had no idea what she was talking about. "Um, what do you need to tell him? Do you need to get home?" And who was Ben, I asked myself? I was trying to be helpful, but I didn't know where she was going with this.

"Ben," she started,"was, up until a few hours ago,...my boyfriend."

"He _was_? Or_ is_?" I tried to hide the hate that was boiling up inside of me. I didn't even know this Ben, and I wanted to rip him apart. I suddenly hated him more than Cullen. Why was she just now telling me this?

"I said he _was_," she laughed again as if it was funny that she had a boyfriend she hadn't told me about. "But if you're interested in a polygamous relationship, I'll ask him about it." Her smile faded slightly. "That might be easier than breaking his heart."

I was growing more jealous by the second. Had she kissed him the way she kissed me? Had it gone further than that? The thought of his hands on her made me want to rip his arms off. My skin tingled and a tremor ran down my spine. _Fight it, Jacob. Don't phase, it's not safe._

"Ha-ha, Angela," my voice was a rumbling growl. "It stopped being funny when you said boyfriend. Don't _do_ that. I thought you were...you weren't _serious,_ were you?" She wasn't smiling now. She was staring at me in stunned silence.

"I am serious about the boyfriend part. I was joking about polygamy. Much as I hate to admit it, I'm one of those crazy jealous types. I wouldn't want to share you with anyone, and I get the feeling your not really into that either. It was a joke. I'm dealing with all this the best I can. Don't freak out."

She seemed sure of what she was saying, but a seed of doubt was beginning to take root in my mind. What if the way she felt about me was tied to her close proximity to me? If she was alone with this Ben guy and I was nowhere around, would she still be able to tell him goodbye? Would she even think about me the same?

"Why, if he's your ex, do you need to tell him anything?" I didn't want her to go anywhere! I was terrified that if she did it would be the end of this waking dream.

"Are you seriously surprised that I wasn't "available"? Did I miss the part with the sign around my neck that says Jacob's girl?" She jabbed a finger in my ribs. "You didn't even know that I existed until literally hours ago. Besides I didn't say I wanted to continue my relationship with him." Angela's voice never wavered.

I looked away from her so she couldn't see me grit my teeth. This was going in a direction I didn't like. "Angela, you don't owe him an explanation. Just stay here with me."

"Jacob...I...Ben and I have been seeing each other for a while now and...he's not you. He and I will never have what's growing between the two of us. It's like being with you sort of erased him from my mind. I..I just don't want to hurt him like that. You can understand that...right?" I could hear the rumble of a growl building deep down. My heart was pounding in my ears.

"So, let me get this straight. You love me, _not_ him. But you feel the need to go shower him with attention suddenly? Is that it?" the jealousy got the better of me.

"No, Jacob. It's not like that. I mean... I don't know how I could just forget someone like that, but I did and really it doesn't matter, because.." she stuttered. "This is a leap of faith for me, Jacob. I don't know you. Not really. But I'm throwing myself at you. I want you to want me. It hurts to think that you doubt the way I feel."

She spoke so low it was merely a whisper. "Ben _was_ my boyfriend, but that's the past now. I hate to hurt him, but I know there's no other way. I don't understand any of this. How am I suppose to explain to him that I just canceled all the plans we had?" She was right. It had not yet occurred to me how drastically her life would change if she chose me. The thought never entered my mind. I had no idea what her plans for the future were. She was smart, so that meant most likely she would be attending college. And that in turn meant that she would be leaving me very soon. We had worse obstacles to overcome than a broken hearted boyfriend.

Angela put her hands on my face and forced me to look at her. Those haunting eyes bored into me. I couldn't look away. "Jacob, I won't leave you. This is what I want. Not something I've been forced or tricked into. Believe this if nothing else. I am yours."

I locked my arms around her, praying she wouldn't change her mind "So, don't tell him. He'll figure it out," I didn't want her telling him anything. That would mean that she had to see him or at the very least speak with him on the phone, and I doubted Angela would settle for less than a face to face conversation.

I must not have looked very reassured by what she said. "You have nothing to worry about, Jacob Black. Don't pout." She tapped my chin with her finger. "You, are the world I live in now. I just need to move out of the other one. It was home for a long time, and it was comfortable. But it never felt as good as this." She held the pants up in one hand and wrapped her other arm around me.

"Would it help if I told him?"

"What do you mean, 'If _I_ told him' ?" She stepped back to look up at me. "What exactly would you say to the guy whose girl just left him for you,a day after meeting you? I don't think it would go over very well, no matter who tells him. I would rather do it myself, if you don't mind. -Alone, would be best."

Okay. So maybe she could read some of my thoughts.

"So, when are you going to break ties with your other boy-toy? I don't like playing second fiddle."

"I was supposed to meet him.." she looked at her watch,"..ten minutes ago."

"Oops. Guess he won't be so surprised when you spring it on him now. He's probably already wondering who you're with," I snickered at the thought of some dumb jock kicking dirt at his feet, feeling all rejected, knowing his girl was seeing someone behind his back.

"It's not really funny," she laughed back at me.

"Seems to be."

She cleared her throat, "It's not," she replied more serious now. "He was good to me. He loves me. And I thought I loved him, but I see how much I was missing." She ran her hands over my chest, smoothing my shirt, and smiled. "I should be very upset. It serves me right after the way it's going to crush him when I tell him it's over. Maybe I'll be able to feel sorry about it when you aren't so close to me."

She hit the nail on the head. My worst fear was that this spell cast over us would break as soon as she left my side. Out of sight, out of mind. I would just have to stay as close to her as possible until I could be sure that she was absolutely addicted to me. It was possible. In the last few months I had found that nearly anything was possible.

We had to talk to the pack-soon. Sam and Emily could weed out a lot of the needless doubt and worries I was having. I needed to pick their brains. As far as I knew, I was supposed to be the one enthralled with Angela. That was what happened to us when we imprinted. Angela was only human, though. It was strange that she should fall for me so hard, so fast. Didn't she have a choice whether or not she wanted me? How did it work?

She might change her mind when she saw Ben. He was the easier choice. They knew each other. They had plans together. I was a risk that she didn't have to take. I resolved to push down the fear and rely on my confidence that Angela and I were meant to be together. I wouldn't fight fate. I decided to trust whatever it had in store for me and let Angela do what she needed to do.

"Well, let's get on with it, then. What should we mark off the to-do list first? Stomp on your old boyfriend's heart, or meet the pack of ferocious wolves? Your call." I squeezed her against me.

"I might wish you'd fed me to the wolves after I talk to Ben." She paused for a second to think. "Maybe you _should_ come with me."

"Do I get to tell him to get lost?"

"No. I'll handle all that. I just think I'd feel better knowing that you weren't far away. The more I think about it, the more surreal it all seems. Do you know what I mean?" I nodded.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you would know all about things seeming strange," she smiled and her hand jumped to cover her mouth. "Sorry, I don't mean to suggest you're strange or anything. It's just that you _are_ a mythical creature." She poked her index finger into my chest.

"Who's stranger? The "mythical creature, who doesn't really exist? Or the beautiful girl whose willingly allowing him to flip her world upside down?"

She didn't hesitate with her answer. "If loving you is strange, then I'm the weirdest person I know, and proud of it." I bent down and kissed her softly. Her heart jumped at the same time as mine.

"Better follow me home, wolf-boy. If I know Ben, this isn't going to be pretty. We'll visit the pack later, if that's okay? _Sooner_ rather than _later_, if this goes the way I'm afraid it will." Why would she be afraid? The guy must get pretty emotional and that did present a problem. He was probably going to beg her to stay and cause a big scene. I'd have to do my best not to laugh. I should feel sorry for the guy. It sucked to have your girl dump you for someone else, I knew the feeling.

I didn't need her falling prey to his weak pity party and trying to comfort him. It could undo her feelings for me, but I hoped against hope that I was wrong. I wanted this bond between us to be real, not something akin to a spell.

Angela yanked on my hand. "Are you always so pessimistic?"

"Huh?"

"Jacob, for the umpteenth time...I love you. I am not going anywhere. I just need to tell him it's over. Stop with the "everything's doomed to fall apart thoughts". What can I do to reassure you that this is real and I'm not going to change my mind?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, I can think of something..," I ran my finger along the skin that showed between the unfastened upper portion of the thin jacket. She trembled and closed her eyes. "...but that would be going against what I said earlier...and as much as I would enjoy it and I'm sure _you_ would...OW!" Angela punched harder this time. It actually hurt.

"You're supposed to be the one with all the will power. Don't go there...unless you're willing to go _all the way_. 'K?" She shook her little fist at me. I laughed so hard my knees nearly buckled under me. "Don't make me hurt you," she suppressed a giggle.

"You think you can take me, huh?" I grabbed her around the waist and tickled her ribs mercilessly.

"Stop, stop, stop," she was out of breath and tense all over. I released my grip. She stooped down and held her sides. "I'll remember that, and I'll get you back when you least expect it."

"Sorry, not ticklish. Werewolves don't have that particular vulnerability. Maybe if you rubbed my belly my leg would twitch," I couldn't help but get her all fired up again.

"That would be my luck, wouldn't it? My mom never let me have a dog when I was little," her voice rose to a squeaky pitch, tears filled her eyes and she howled with laughter, "Now...I can have...," she snorted, "a boyfriend and a pet...rolled into one pretty package...," she was laughing so hard she couldn't breath. I thought I saw her turning blue.

Coming from anyone else I might have been insulted, but the image she created in my mind set me to laughing with her. I could just picture petite little Angela walking me around town on a leash like it was the most natural thing in the world. There was one thing I knew she wouldn't make me beg for, though. Might be fun to be her puppy.

"I'm house broken," I added.

"Oh, Jacob, I'm sorry," she wiped the tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...but I pictured you-"

"On a leash?" I snickered.

"Yeah," was all she could get out before she doubled over laughing and hyperventilating again. She nearly lost the grip on the over sized pants. I helped her to her car and she gained her composure once she sat down for a moment.

"Okay, I'm alright. My stomach's sore from belly laughs, but I think I'll survive." she held onto the steering wheel with both hands trying to concentrate on the serious matter she had to deal with shortly.

"So, who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" I bent down to kiss her and she kept her hands on the wheel.

"You mean tempted by? That would be me, Little Red Rain Coat," she sneered.

"Uh, about that. How are you gonna explain your ever so slightly strange wardrobe choice? Even if I'm nowhere in sight, won't you look a tad suspicious?" The expression on her face told all. She hadn't't thought about it. "What are you going to say?"

"The only thing to do...," she cringed, "is give you back your clothes and _bbrrrrr_, put back on my wet ones."

"You're kidding, right? You'll freeze to death before you reach the border."

"The what?"

"The treaty line, the one that the Cul- never mind. I meant you can't wear wet clothes all the way back to Forks. Even with the heater on wide open you'll be an icicle before you get home. That'll be a little distracting, don't you think? For you and...Ben." I knew it would be a distraction for me, seeing her clothes stuck against her body, clinging to her perfect frame. I didn't want to catch him drooling over her while she was doing her best to let him down easy. The green-eyed monster might not be able to sit back and let him undress her in his mind. I really hated him for the thoughts he had yet to think.

"Worry about something else, okay? I'll have plenty of thoughts of you to keep me warm." I only wished I could get a glimpse inside her vault of naughty images. Maybe she'd demonstrate sometime very soon. _Oh, God I hope so!_

"You just have to say the word, Puppy," she arched her eyebrows and pouted.

"Are you sure you can't see what I'm thinking all the time? Or is it that you've finely tuned your listening skills to pick out only my _dirty thoughts_?" I really did wonder about that. None of the others had mentioned anything like mind reading with their prospective mates. It weirded me out a little, but it could be fun all the same.

_Just wait until I show you what a bad puppy I can be._

"Obedience lessons are my specialty," she had that fire in her eyes again.

"Angela! The dirty thoughts? Seriously?" This was even weirder than I'd thought before.

"Well, they kind of scream at me. Everything else is sort of unpredictable. I just get bits and pieces mostly. The longer I'm here with you, the stronger it gets. I have a theory about all that, too, but it might be best if we discussed it at a more..um..appropriate time," she looked a little uncomfortable.

"Why is that?"

"Because if I start to explain now, and it gets you...hot...and it will...I don't think I'll be able to contain those feelings. And I'm not really sure you'll stop me when I'm describing in detail all the things I see. X-rated doesn't even begin to cover it," her face was flush. She looked like she had a severe sunburn.

"Oh. Well...um..," it was too, late. She already had me excited just telling me why she couldn't tell me. "..I understand. Better get this over with and get back to Emily's pretty quick. I don't know if I'll be able to wait for details. I'm coming up with more than my share of triple x scenarios without any suggestions," Angela's face went white. She closed her eyes and then she blushed again. "Oh, crap! Sorry, Angela! Guess that really caught your attention. I didn't do it on purpose, I-"

"Shut up, Jacob. Just grab my clothes for me, okay? I'll change and you follow me home. If I don't get back in the next few minutes, Ben's liable to call out a search party."

_A/N: Patience you naughty buggers! Sorry it takes me so long to get updates posted. I have other things to do, ya know? Some small semblance of a life. Next chapter promises a scene with Ben that could cause Angela and Jake serious problems. We will get to the discussion with the pack about what everyone knows for sure about imprinting. You might learn something new. Don't be so critical of the story, okay. If there are discrepancies from the novel, just remember that this is a fanfiction story, not a continuation of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. I take any liberties I want with my story. MY STORY. If you don't like it, simple solution-don't read it. If you get this far and have some bitch to post, then go ahead. I don't have to read it. Just like you don't have to read this. **For everyone else who has questions or comments, I welcome them.** If you have nothing better to do than burn somebody's crappy little attempt at entertainment, then by all means -Be my guest. You apparently don't have much better to do with your pitiful life. Have at it. Hack the story to pieces, but as you do-picture me LMAO at your sorry attack. Don't care. ; ) _

_ Um, as another fanfic author and I were discussing earlier this week...Out Of Character is something silly to worry about. Of course they'll be OOC sometimes. It's FANFICTION, not a ghostwritten outsource for the REAL THING._


	13. One Step At A Time

_**One Step At A Time**_

Following Angela back to her house was torture. I wanted to be beside her again. I wished that I had insisted on the two of us going together to confront the "ex" -or soon to be ex-boyfriend- I preferred to think of him as already out of the picture.

I hated feeling anxious, and this was about as anxious as one person could get. My hands gripped the steering wheel with such ferocity that I nearly broke it into two pieces. To keep me from completely dismantling the interior of the car, I drove with one hand on the wheel and dialed through the radio stations with the other. It wasn't much of a distraction considering that all I could hear was my heart beating in my ears.

An overwhelming sense of fear washed over me when we came into view of Angela's house. There in front sat a car I knew must belong to Ben, but there was no one around. She was supposed to meet with him a half an hour earlier. I hoped that maybe he had grown impatient waiting for her and caught a ride with someone else. But that made no sense. Why would he leave his car parked at Angela's? Maybe he had grown familiar with her family enough to be comfortable doing such things.

Another fear surfaced. Would Angela's family be accepting of me? Would they even remotely like me? Her parents may not be so keen on the idea of her abruptly ending one relationship and diving headfirst into another one just as quickly.

I veered onto another street that ran behind Angela's house. She pulled up alongside the car parked out front and stopped. She waited until I slid out of sight to pull up to the sidewalk and get out of the car. I left the Rabbit and ran up to the side of the house without making any sound. If I ever decided to become a thief, I had the perfect skill to do so.

I peeked around the corner and Angela's nose was touching mine. "Jeez, Angela! Don't do that!"

She nearly fell to the ground laughing. "Some wolf you are," she whispered. "If a little girl like me can catch you by surprise, how are you gonna face any_ real_ monsters?"

"I'm beginning to think that _you_ are the worst kind of monster," I pecked her on the cheek and pulled her up onto her feet. "Where is the creep?"

"Be nice, Jacob. I told you that he was nothing but nice to me. This monster is the one you should be upset with. I feel like I'm turning your world upside down as well as his."

There was a sadness in her eyes that I didn't like.

"What are you talking about?" I was honestly confused.

"Jacob," she sighed, "You know I'm suppose to be leaving for college. _Soon_. On the way over here I started to think about how quickly that time was coming. I feel like I can't leave you here...but, this is so new. And I can't just not go. And I can't ask you to drop out and come with me. I know now's not the greatest time to bring this up again, but we are going to have to talk about it soon."

I hadn't given nearly enough thought to what her plans were. There had not really been much time to think about it. The only future I had tried to imagine had been one with Angela in it. The dream we had shared was a satisfactory enough answer for me. We would be together if I believed in premonitions.

But what if it was just a dream? Maybe she could walk away from me and slip out of my life as easily as she had come into it.

Before I could voice my concerns to Angela she jerked back away from me. The look on her face was one of shock. Suddenly there was a face to put with the name Ben.

He was holding her by both wrists, and she looked like he was hurting her. She glanced quickly to me and shook her head. My thoughts must have been loud enough for her to catch.

Ben said something to her, that I didn't hear, because I was too busy imagining my fist crushing into his skull.

"No, Ben," Angela answered and I saw her try to pull her hands free from his tightening grip. "I'm sorry I was late. I lost track of time-"

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," he cut off her explanation. "Just what were you doing that was so time consuming that you just forgot to meet me?"

He softened his voice a little then, when he saw her body stiffen. "I would never worry you like that." He pulled her closer to him and she resisted.

I stepped out, away from the house. "Hi, you must be Ben," I said with obvious disdain in my voice.

"And you're Jacob Black," he smugly remarked without taking his eyes off Angela.

"Yeah, last time I checked," I said through my teeth, my jaw clenched tightly. "You're a friend of Angela's?"

No friend would treat a girl this way. Even an enemy could be gentleman enough to know that playing was one thing, but intentionally hurting a girl was wrong.

Ben winced as I reached out and released his grasp on Angela. It took all of my will power to keep from snapping his fingers off. Angela had just been telling me what a nice guy he was. Maybe I'd heard her wrong. Either that or she had been trying to convince me not to come with her and witness what a bastard she had chosen for a boyfriend.

Angela didn't hesitate to stand beside me and away from Ben, now that she wasn't being forced to be close to him.

"What's wrong with you, Ben?" Angela's voice was quavering. I put my arm around her and Ben's hands balled into fists at his side.

"Nothing's wrong with me. Are you ready to go?" He stared at her, ignoring me completely.

"Go, where?" Angela and I asked at the same time.

"I was talking to Ang, if you don't mind," Ben's left eye was beginning to twitch. I grinned at the thought of him having a full blown hissy fit right there on the Weber's lawn.

"Well, now that you mention it, I do mind."

"Jacob, could I have a minute with Ben?"

"Of course," I didn't move from where I stood.

"Um..alone?" Angela half smiled at me, but she didn't look like she was really sure that she wanted me to leave.

I pictured us sitting in the swing around the back of her house in only our underwear while Ben was cutting the grass with a pair of kid's safety scissors. She snickered as the thought left my mind and entered hers.

She squeezed my forearm with her hand. It was cold as ice and trembling. "Just a second," she whispered, " I'll be okay."

"I won't be far away," I said out loud, just so Ben would know to be careful with his actions and words.

I walked around the house and came around to the other side so that I could keep my eye on the creep. I had a good view of Angela, but Ben's back was to me. She smiled sweetly at him, and began to speak. He reached down to grab her hand again, but she was quick to yank it away this time.

I smiled as hers faded and gave way to the meanest expression I had ever seen on any woman. It was cute on Angela, but I would have had to thought twice about smiling if I had been standing where Ben was.

I had gotten so distracted watching the light reflect off Angela's perfect skin that I hadn't been listening to what was being said between them. Angela's mouth moved quickly and her movements were erratic. She looked frustrated. I tuned in now to every word.

"Ben, this isn't easy for me, either-" she was being firm, but her voice was still kind.

"Doesn't seem like you're having any problems, whatsoever. How long have you been seeing him behind my back, Angela?"

"Would you please stop cutting me off and accusing me of false truths for just one sec-"

"False truths? You mean lies? Am I a liar? Is that your reason for slutting around town with-"

**CRACK!**

I watched in amazement as Angela drew back a bloody fist and Ben grabbed his face with both hands.

I was literally on my toes, ready to come to Angela's rescue if she needed me. She didn't.

Before poor Benny could grasp what had just happened, Angela stepped in to his body and her knee kicked up hard into his groin.

I doubled over when he did. Only my pose was because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

With the force she had delivered the blow, I imagined that Ben may have to undergo a testicle retrieval operation just to call himself a man again. He would have been screaming, if his family jewels weren't lodged somewhere close to his vocal chords.

I looked up from the ground where I was now crouched, to see Angela's demon face return to that of an angel. She walked around Ben and straight to where I was hiding from plain sight. I didn't know how she knew where I would be, but I was relieved that I didn't have to come to her. Looking at Ben from any closer vantage point than the one I had could have been dangerous. I might have lost my bladder control, if I laughed any harder.


	14. The Big Bang

_**The Big Bang**_

(JPOV)

I wanted to kiss Angela right then and there just to thank her for making me laugh harder than I had in ages. Before I could act on my impulse, she threw her uninjured hand around my neck and pulled my mouth down to meet hers. I was shocked, but there was no way I was going to fight off this advance.

Her lips were sweet, but her kiss was angry. Her mouth pressed furiously against mine. I pulled her against me and lifted her easily off the ground and into my arms. Her body relaxed and I could feel her lips turn up into a smile.

"Get me away from here before I seriously wound him," she laughed.

"Yes, ma'am," I happily obliged.

"That shouldn't have felt so good...but God, it did!" Angela was beaming.

I carried her, half running and laughing to my car, as Ben still lay bleeding and moaning on her front lawn. I stopped a few feet from the car and set Angela on the ground. She looked up at me curiously.

"Now, don't hurt me, Karate Kid," I put up my hands defensively, "but are you sure you want to leave with _me_ right now?"

"Are you kidding?" she jabbed at me with her hand which was still clenched into a fist and still covered in blood. "I've never been more sure of anything. Let's get out of here, before something else really strange happens."

"Okay, but where do you wanna go?"

I didn't hesitate to open the passenger side door for her and help her into the seat. She grimaced as she looked down at her hand, which was already beginning to swell. I imagined that it must have begun to throb, also, but she only frowned a little. The frown turned quickly into a smile when she glanced up and saw me eyeing her suspiciously.

"I'm fine, Jacob. It's nothing. The pain is worth it."

She mumbled something to herself and laughed a little. The smirk on her face was endearing if not a little scary. I would have never imagined such a force dwelt in such a small body. Angela was anything but timid now. I didn't know her well at all, but this was not what I had expected she would be like.

I gently shut the door and hurriedly made my way to the driver's side. As soon as I was in the seat, Angela was pressed against me, her head on my shoulder.

"Take me home, Jacob," she sighed.

"Umm...Angela? You are home," I was confused.

"Then take me to _your_ home, silly boy," she said simply and planted a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Maybe we should get you to a doctor and have them look at your hand. I don't think you'll be so happy with the pain later, when it's swollen twice it's normal size. It may be broken. I heard a crack when-"

Angela laughed.

"I know, it was awesome, wasn't it?," she squealed.

I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, though I didn't know where it was coming from. She was giddy.

"I never thought I had it in me to hurt someone, but when he said those horrible things about you...I..I just snapped," Angela's joyful expression suddenly grew grim.

"Jacob, I think if I hadn't walked away from him...I think.."

"What, Angela? What's the matter? He deserved it. Hell, I would've-"

"I think I could've killed him, Jacob."

There were tears in Angela's eyes and her lower lip was quivering. She looked like a terrified little child -worlds away from the championship extreme fighter she had been only seconds ago.

"Oh, Sweetie. It's okay. You wouldn't have done that."

I put my right arm around her and she looked down, away from me. She pulled back from me slightly and I took the hint. I let my arm fall down to my side and she leaned back against the door, readjusting herself in the seat to look directly at me.

Rather than crying, Angela was smiling again. The tears still welled in her eyes, but her grin wasn't a pained one.

"I wouldn't have regretted it," she laughed but her tone was cold. A chill ran down my spine and I shivered at the thought of Angela ripping Ben apart like a wolf was capable of.

"What wouldn't you have regretted? Hitting him again?"

"No. I don't think I would have regretted seeing him dead."

My eyes grew wide and Angela's smile grew wider. She sighed and slumped a little into the seat.

"Does that make you think I'm horrible...or crazy, Jacob?"

She seemed amused by my shock at what she was confessing. I wasn't sure how to answer, so I told her the truth. It was easier than fighting to make up a lie and spare her feelings.

"Well, to tell the truth, I'm not sure that you're thinking clearly."

Angela chuckled.

"Why is that funny? You are definitely not yourself. The girl I know would never _really_ feel that way. You don't really mean that."

"Oh, Jake. I don't even know who I am right now. How could you possibly begin to assume that you know what I would or wouldn't do?" She rubbed her bloody hand roughly with hem of her shirt. She never even flinched as a piece of skin pulled back from her knuckle and fresh blood surfaced. Normally the sight of blood would not phase me whatsoever. This however, caused my stomach to churn uncomfortably.

"Okay, we are definitely heading to the hospital. I think you need stitches...and maybe a mental evaluation," I mumbled to myself.

I glanced over to where Ben still remained on the lawn, struggling to gain his footing and staring at his once girlfriend sitting in another guy's car. I almost felt sorry for him. Then something struck me about what Angela had just said.

"Angela?"

She didn't answer, but turned her pretty face toward me a little as if to say she was listening.

"You've never called me Jake before. Why is that?"

"I guess I never liked to call people by a nickname until I really got to know them. You know, until I was totally comfortable with them."

"And kicking some guy's butt made you feel comfortable with me, but nearly mauling me in the car back in La Push...that didn't do it for you?"

"You don't want me to call you Jake?" She looked concerned, maybe even a little hurt.

"No-no. It's not that. You can call me whatever you want. It's just that you've always called me Jacob, and I wondered why that was."

She didn't even remark on my "mauling" comment.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I just feel a little mixed up right now, but I'll get it all straightened out. I promise." And with that she lay her head against the window and closed her eyes.

I wanted to question her -or at least keep her talking about something. She was really beginning to worry me. I had never imagined that her confrontation with Ben would have gone the way it did. Nor would I have ever thought that such hostility for anyone brewed inside of Angela. It just proved how little I really knew about her. Perhaps things weren't so cleary laid out for me as I had thought.

As Angela settled herself into what appeared to be a nap, I drove us straight to the emergency room. Her eyes opened just as we came to a stop. She let herself out of the car and started toward the entrance before I got my seat belt undone. I caught up with her quickly, just as her hand reached for the door.

"Angela, are you sure you're okay?" I stopped her by putting my hand on hers. She smiled up at me -looking at me directly for the first time since her mad confession in the car.

"In all honesty, I'm _not_, Jacob. I just don't want to talk about it right now," she squeezed my hand with hers and I noticed that it was nearly as warm as my own.

"We won't talk about it then. Not now, but later. Okay?"

She pulled my hand to her lips and kissed it. "We have a lot to talk about. I haven't forgotten. This will just be another "thing" to add to the list of conversation topics."

I smiled at her half-heartedly. What I really wanted to do was go back to her place and finish the job she had started. Surely Ben would be gone by the time I got there, though. And besides, what was wrong with Angela was more my fault than his. If not for being with me, she wouldn't feel so mixed up and...

I wouldn't let myself finish the thought. Fate had brought us together. Who was I to question it? Sometimes it was better to live with the consequences of your actions without remorse. Billy had said more times than once that I should never look back to what might have been. It only hurt more each time you did that, and there was no going back to change it. Dealing with what the present held was much more important. The future had not yet been written.

I wished desperately that it had, so I would know for sure that Angela's future would be tied with mine the way we both literally dreamed about once.

* * *

I should have noticed which cars were parked in the reserved hospital staff spaces. Had I paid any attention, I would have known that Dr. Cullen would likely be the one attending to Angela's injuries. I had only been thinking of Angela and our future together. My mind had been too preoccupied with that notion to notice such minor details as the vampire doctor whose family I wanted to distance myself from.

A nurse at the registration desk waved to another who ushered Angela and I to a small curtained area where she would wait for the doctor. A voice came on over the static laced intercom.

_"Dr. Cullen to the ER. Doctor Carlisle Cullen to the ER."_

"Great," I muttered under my breath.

"I know that you don't like Edward. I assume that means you don't care much for his family, either?" Angela could read my face too well. Even if I hadn't ever so slightly voiced my dislike for the Cullen's, she would have sensed my irritation at having to be close to Dr. Cullen.

"I'm sorry, Angela. I'll keep my opinions to myself. He's really a good doctor."

I wanted to run for the door as I sensed his silent footsteps approaching. I didn't want to be bothered by his presence. I hadn't really given any thought to Bella, Edward or any of the Cullen clan since I had been with Angela. Tempting fate was stupid. I didn't want to chance the surfacing of some random feeling or desire to be with Bella because of this interaction.

"Go, Jacob. You don't have to stay here and hold my hand. I'm a big girl," Angela said with a sincere smile on her face.

"I know you are, but that's what boyfriends are suppose to do, right? Be there for their girl -no matter what."

Angela giggled. "You're full of all kinds of sweet little thoughts, aren't you?"

I blushed. I felt my skin grow several degrees warmer than my usually hot-blooded body already was.

"Did I embarrass you?" Angela smiled and then she also blushed, "Sorry."

She reached for my hand and I allowed her to pull me close to her on the hospital bed where she sat. My body tingled all over. It was a feeling close to what I felt when I phased into the wolf, only it was scarier. I wanted her so badly, confusion, hostility and all. I wanted her to be mine in every way.

"I love that about you, Jacob Black. You're so tough on the outside, but I can see right through to the big heart you have hidden inside."

I wanted to kiss her and I knew she felt the same way, but other emotions were stirring inside of me. Emotions that I'd rather not let Angela see surface. Cullen was getting closer and I panicked a little as the vampire stench burned in my throat. No matter how nice he had been to me, nothing could change what he was--or what I was.

"It's okay, Jake. You can wait for me out there somewhere. It doesn't look very crowded right now. I shouldn't take to long to stitch up...ugh, I forgot about the needles."

"So, you're calling me Jake again?" Angela lowered her brow and glared at me with a mock expression of frustration.

"Would you rather I call you Mister Black? Or maybe Jakey Poo?" she teased.

"Oh, god. Not that. Jake's fine. I was just kidding."

"Fine then, _Jake_. Get out of here before I change my mind about being stitched up and run out of here with you."

"Are you afraid of needles?" I grinned without meaning to. She bloodied a guy's face and nearly pulled the skin off her own hand in doing so, but she was afraid of a needle? "Cause I'll stay if you need me to."

"No, it's just that this isn't the first time I've had stitches. I know that Dr. Cullen is good at his job...he's had me as a patient before...on more than one occasion, unfortunately."

I wouldn't have pegged Angela as accident-prone. She moved so gracefully when she walked and moved. What she said though, contradicted my impression of her. I wanted to ask her about it, but a familiar voice outside the curtain startled me.

"May I come in?"

"I'll be out in the lobby if you need me, Angela. Just yell, okay?" I didn't wait for her response. I whisked past Doctor Cullen as he pulled back the curtain and greeted Angela.

I held my breath to keep from catching his scent. I didn't want to be reminded of how Bella smelled when she'd been close to Cullen. I hoped that the good doctor didn't have to touch Angela any more than was absolutely necessary. I batted away the thought of her stinking of blood sucker and made my way slowly to the lobby.

There was never anything to do to keep your mind occupied in a hospital. The television was set on a medical news channel and the reporter droned on and on in a monotone voice about the many ways to help protect oneself from catching the flu and other common ailments. Apparently washing one's hands was at the top of the list. Medicine sure had come a long way over the centuries...ha...washing your hands. Which reminded me...

I had held Angela's hand in mine and there was some of her blood dried there on my skin. I headed for the restroom to wash up when the door to the ER opened and in stalked Ben -looking even more ragged than I remembered Angela leaving him. His eyes caught mine and I nearly laughed at how deranged he looked. He was huffing like a rhino about to charge and he had his hand stuffed in the pocket of his jacket. I didn't move fast enough, because I was so entranced by how ludicrous he looked.

When he pulled his hand free from his jacket there was something in his grasp. I didn't recognize what it was until it was too late. A flash of light startled me and then there was the sharp burning in my left shoulder. I reached for the place that stung like a hive of bees let loose in my shirt. I lifted my hand to my eyes to see too much blood to have been Angela's.

A gun. He shot me, the little...

...Oh, crap! How was I going to get out of this in the middle of a hospital. The wound was already healing and the skin was stretching tightly around the hole in my shoulder. The bullet must have lodged, because there was a pinching feeling deep in the muscle. Guess it was a nice gesture of fate to have Dr. Cullen working at that particular moment. He wouldn't make such a huge deal of the bleeding werewolf in the lobby.

I tried to remember what I had seen on television about gunshot victims. There was no time to react the way a "normal" person should. I didn't have time to pass out and just lie there and bleed. I would rely on the old adrenaline rush story. In a few minutes the gaping wound would be completely healed and that would definitely draw attention that I neither needed nor wanted. On top of that, young Benjamin was still holding the smoking gun and looking around. I presumed he was now looking for Angela. That wouldn't happen. He wouldn't get close to her so long as I was breathing.


	15. Focus on the Pain

_**Focus On The Pain**_

(_**Angela's POV**__--A/N: this takes place in Jacob's car on the way to the ER when Jake thinks she's napping.)_

There was so much I wanted to tell Jacob, but I had to straighten things out for myself before any talking would get done. So many emotions were swirling around in my heart. I was hurt by what Ben had said. I had expected some pain when I told him that our relationship was over, but this was not what I had bargained for. He had never once shown this side of himself to me. I had no idea that he could be so..._mean_.

I was usually such a good judge of character, but this was beyond my understanding. I knew he would be hurt, but his reaction was ridiculous.

_Wait_. How did he know that I had been with Jacob? What was it that he had said back at the house? Something about knowing who Jake was. And then there were his wild accusations. It was almost laughable.

_Ow. _My hand was really beginning to throb and I was having a hard time concentrating on the drama unfolding in my "love life". _Ha! Angela gets to live a drama queen's life and she didn't even ask for the throne. _How terribly "Jessica" of me. This was something she would die to have. A little trouble in paradise for her to put in her diary. She'd get a kick out of Jacob fawning over her so.

I'd rip her hair out by the bleached out, dyed and over processed roots if she ever came near Jacob. He said he was mine and mine alone. I'd make sure it stayed that way.

_Whoa! Where did that come from?!_

I'd never thrown a real punch in my life, until I broke Ben's nose just a few minutes ago. Now here I was in a hospital emergency room preparing myself for the stitches that would close up the bloody gash in my knuckles.

Normally I would have become a little squeamish at the sight of my own blood, but this was almost intoxicating. The smell of fresh blood -and I could sense the difference in mine and Ben's. God, I was sick! But it was hilarious. I wondered if he'd ever "operate" normally again. I'd kicked him pretty hard in just the right spot.

That was just horrible of me. I would never hurt anyone, especially someone who I had been as close to as him. Now Jessica on the other hand...

There had been plenty of times when I wanted to break _her_ face before, but I'd always just shaken the feeling off. However, if she ever, EVER came near Jacob with that look in her eyes, I may just scratch both of them out. I didn't know for sure if I'd be able to stop myself.

Ha! Maybe one of the pack could serve as her seeing eye werewolf. _Jeez, Angela! Snap out of it. You're talking to yourself..and it's one heck of a crazy conversation!_

_Okay, deep breath. Focus on how much your hand hurts. _That should be easy. _Oh, and look! The blood is getting thicker._ _They'll probably have to scrub it before they run that big silver needle through the skin. _**YIKES! **

I hated that needle. I'd had my share of stitches in my life. Maybe that's why I hated it so. Ben had never physically hurt me before, but that was not to say that _every_ boyfriend I'd ever had was as harmless as him. No one would have ever guessed that shy little Angela Weber would ever set her sights on some of the various losers I had dated in the past. It wasn't like I went looking for the wrong kind of guy. They just seemed to find me somehow. I attracted them like flies to honey..._or dead meat_.

People thought I was as innocent as a little lamb. Some of them, I'm sure, assumed that Ben was the first guy ever to hold my hand and carry my books to class when we were in school. So not true. Thing is, in those former bad relationships I had never fought back. I'd just been lucky enough to get away with scraps, bruises, a broken heart and the occasional trip to the ER to stitch up an open wound.

Once, a guy I'd been out with only a few times decided that he was ready to move to "the next level". _I _was _not_ so ready for that. When I pushed him off of me, he split my lip. Luckily, those stitches were on the inside, so it was easy to hide. The healing actually hurt worse than the impact of his hand. The scar was tiny. It was only noticeable if I pointed it out. None of my friends ever knew the crap I went through with those losers. In fact, no one knew. I preferred my secrecy.

I'd told my parents later that I had smacked myself with the car door when it stuck and I'd pulled it open too hard. Funny that they'd believe such a lame excuse when they themselves had seen the guy I'd been out with and the guilty expression on his face when he dropped me off at home and never come around again.

Parents were disappointing that way. When they should be nosy, they weren't. I promised myself that I wouldn't be that way if I ever had kids. I'd stick my nose in their business until they hated me if I had to. At least I would try to protect them anyway I could from all the hurt in the world.

I felt that way about Jacob now. Not in a motherly way. I just wanted to keep his heart safe. And as time wore on I wanted more and more to be the only person in his heart. I wished to be his one and only desire as he was becoming mine. I didn't care that it had only been a short time since we had come to know each other. This was real and it was love. Pure and simple. It was as natural for me to love him as it was to breathe.

I hated the thought of leaving him so soon to head off to college. It caused me physical pain to be away from him for even the shortest span of time. In the car on the way back to my house, I was so tense. All these scenarios played out in my mind of all the ridiculously impossible things that could happen to him in the time we were apart. I ached to touch him again.

It only took minutes to arrive at my house and park the cars, but it was too long to be away from him. Jacob was preoccupied with sneaking up unnoticed to the side of the house and he hadn't seen me waiting just around the corner of the spot he was heading. He looked so tempting striding swiftly and cautiously toward me and he didn't even know I was hiding there.

I couldn't resist teasing him a bit. I thought of it as pay back for the little x rated movies of us that he'd unwittingly unleashed upon me back at the beach. I sensed that his curiosity was getting the better of him, so I leaned quietly and quickly around the corner of the house -stopping only when we met face to face with our noses touching.

"Jeez, Angela! Don't do that!" Jacobs eyes flew wide open and I fell down from laughing so hard.

"Some wolf you are," I whispered, though if anyone were around, they would have already been alerted to our presence by Jacob's yelling. "If a little girl like me can catch you by surprise, how are you gonna face any real monsters?"

I bent down and grabbed both of my hands. "I'm beginning to think that you are the worst kind of monster," Jacob smirked. He planted a quick kiss on my cheek and pulled me easily to my feet.

"Where is the creep?" Jacob's smile was gone now. He searched the surrounding yard for any sign of Ben. I honestly didn't know where he could be. In all the time we had been dating, Ben had never let himself into my house when I wasn't home. Or at least I didn't think he ever had.

"Be nice, Jacob. I told you that he was nothing but nice to me. This "monster" is the one you should be upset with. I feel like I'm turning your world upside down as well as his."

"What are you talking about?" Jacob cocked his head to one side and furrowed his brow, studying me.

"Jacob," I sighed, "I'm suppose to be leaving for college. _Soon._ I feel like I can't leave you here...but, this is so new. And I can't just not go. And I can't ask you to drop out and come with me."

Before we had been able to get into the details of the conversation Ben showed up and threw his little hissy fit. At first it was a bit scary seeing him act in that uncharacteristic way. I got over it though when he insulted Jacob. It really pissed me off. I didn't have time to think before I reacted. It all happened so quickly that I think it must have been instinct driving me.

If Jacob was right -if I was reacting to his pheromones- and that was entirely possible, then I was acting in his defense...as his mate. Oh, my God! That sounded scary, but at the same time so very appealing. I hoped it was true. I wanted to be attracted to him that way and I wanted him to want me just as badly.

Of course that would mean that we'd have to be very careful of how close we let ourselves get to one another. He seemed to have better control of his hormones than I did. I was easily overcome sometimes and I wanted to rip his clothes off. But then, any girl in close proximity to Jacob Black would be a fool to say that she didn't feel the same way.

I wondered suddenly if maybe Ben had reacted the way a male animal would to another male's pheromones. If another male threatened to take his mate away an animal would undoubtedly fight back any way he could until one of them won out and laid claim to the female, I remembered watching a video about pheromones that described what they were and what their purpose was in a biology class. Could _that_ be the reason Ben had become so defensive and angry? It would explain a lot. Ben had always displayed such an easy going attitude up until he had met Jacob and learned that he was losing me to him.

If it had been just another guy, I didn't think Ben would have reacted the same way. Jacob was no ordinary guy, after all. He was a werewolf. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming all of this. Nope. That hurt...but not nearly as much as my hand was starting to.

When we soon arrived at the hospital, I jumped from my seat and made my way to the entrance. I didn't want Jacob to see the confusion that surely expressed itself vividly on my face. He would worry about me enough as it was. I also didn't feel like explaining my fairly thick medical file folder that the doctor would be sure to have on hand. Jacob didn't need to know that much about my past screw-ups just yet. He already assumed that I had enjoyed a relationship with Ben in which he had treated me with the cruelty he displayed back at the house. I would have to explain to Jake my theory of how pheromones could be the reason behind Ben's strange behavior just as well as they were affecting me in an odd way.I didn't want him to pity me or to think that Ben was one of "those" guys.

I knew with all my heart that I had inadvertently chosen a good one this time. The one. Jacob wasn't an ordinary guy. In any case, he was extraordinary. He was the world to me now. I had to keep reminding myself that he carried such a huge burden and that he himself didn't know for sure what reactions he would stir in others because of his dark secret.

My reaction to him, thankfully, had been a more than pleasant one. Ben's, however, was the kind I feared and hoped was a one time thing. Surely Jake had been around other "normal" human guys since his transformation. He would definitely have noticed if other boys and men showed such aggression toward him. Yes, Ben had to be a one time deal. We shouldn't have to worry about that happening again.

Jacob's footsteps were so quiet that I didn't hear him catch up to me so quickly. His big, warm hand caught mine as I reached for the door. I turned to look at him. How could I resist that gorgeous face? He looked like a bronze god, carved by the hands of time and set above all humans to make them see how imperfect they were. I beat down the urge to taste his lips again. I hid the hurt in my eyes as best I could when he asked if I was okay.

"In all honesty, I'm _not_, Jacob. I just don't want to talk about it right now," I squeezed his hand and he looked down intensely at the two of them -my hand in his.

I agreed to talk about this later with him. I truly meant to tell him everything and answer any question he may ask me as honestly as I could. I would not lie to him. I didn't think I could if I wanted to. He was much too persuasive when he looked into my eyes and he didn't even seem to know it.

When the nurse showed us to a curtained exam room and left us alone, I noticed for the first time how eager Jacob was to make me feel at ease. I thought that maybe he was more disturbed by my newly confessed dark side than I was. Where did we go from here? Would I ever learn to control the constantly nagging urge to tackle him and force myself on him?

The thought made me smile and Jacob seemed to know that I was thinking about him. He didn't mention it. Instead, he mumbled something when Dr. Cullen was called over the intercom to attend to the patient needing assistance in the ER -said patient being me.

After an awkward moment with Jacob struggling with his devotion to me and his dislike of the doctor who would soon attend to my hurt hand, I excused him from my presence. Only a few minutes had passed before I heard the loud BANG! coming from the lobby. _Gunfire?_ Yes, it was unmistakable.

I jumped down from my perch on the bed. Luckily, Doctor Cullen had been quick to clean and stitch my hand. I started to run toward the sound, which was the one place you were suppose to flee from. Jacob was out there and I had to see if he was okay. I knew instinctively that he wasn't dead, but I could also tell that he was hurt. A pain pulled at my heart and my feet felt like lead. It seemed to take ages to move the few short yards from the exam room to the lobby.

So much blood. But Jacob was standing --and so was Ben! He was holding the gun and his eyes were darting to every corner of the room. He was looking for something _or someone_. I guessed that it was me -my hunches usually proved correct. This time was no different.

Jacob turned at exact the same time as Ben. Both of their eyes found me at the same time. Jacob moved so fast that it looked surreal. It was like a scene from _The Matrix_. He lunged toward Ben and his hands grabbed for the gun. Yet somehow Doctor Cullen came from behind me and in the blink of an eye he was between Jacob and Ben.

I looked around in a panic. The two nurses who had been here when Jake and I came in were nowhere in sight. Apparently they had done the smart thing and gotten themselves out of Dodge when the shot rang out -maybe even before that. I was angry that I was the lone observer to this movie style action sequence, but then I realized with relief that it was probably a good thing I was alone. My mind raced. I took in the scene. No one else had seen what had happened, so if things played out well, maybe Ben would get off without a huge fuss being made over the whole fiasco.

It sounded ludicrous, even to me, that I would be willing to let Ben off the hook for such a horrible crime. But I knew beyond doubt (now that I had thought the whole thing through) that he had been acting on impulse. Jacob being a werewolf had been the main reason for the whole mess getting this blown out of proportion. I didn't blame Jake. It wasn't really his fault, but still -the werewolf development made all the difference.

Somehow, all of this would work out in the end. I wasn't entirely sure of all the details, but if Jake was okay and Doctor Cullen was as good a person as I thought him to be, then the pieces would fall into place and Ben would wind up okay.

_Please, God, please let this all turn out okay._

And to think that less than an hour ago I had thought myself able to murder this _boy_ who wielded the gun that could have killed both Jacob and myself. What was wrong with me? Shouldn't I hope that the police came blazing in to save the day? Something told me that would be the wrong ending to this very odd day. There was more fear in Jacob's eyes than in Ben's. Ben looked more confused by the preceding series of events than anything.

Maybe we could attribute his crazy actions to a mental breakdown. That would explain away all the stupid things he had done. And maybe it was even true.

I glanced from Ben to Jacob and back again. Jacob growled at Ben, but instead of throttling him he ran to me. His arm slipped around my waist and he lifted me off of my feet. Before I could protest we were both sitting on a hospital bed in the far end of the hospital in an actual room, not some curtained hallway.

"JAKE! You're hurt! We have to let someone look at you...and Ben...Doctor Cullen is still out there alone with him. One of us needs to call the police. We have to.." Jacob cut off my words with a kiss that he planted fully on my mouth.

"Calm down, Ang. I'll be fine and believe me, Carlisle Cullen can take care of Ben with one hand tied behind his back." Jacob was actually smiling. "But first things first. You're right. I do need to get a doctor or someone to at least get this damn piece of metal out of me."

I stared in shock and horror as Jacob gingerly removed his blood soaked shirt to reveal a perfectly round hole in his shoulder where the bullet had entered.

"Other than that I'm fine." Jacob continued as I felt the room begin to spin.

"Angela!"

Everything went black.

* * *

When my eyes opened again, I felt strange. What a weird, awful dream. I tried to right myself and get my bearings. My surroundings were unfamiliar to me for only a moment. 

"Aw, crap!" I exclaimed.

"Miss Weber? I know you're not feeling very well. This must have all come as a shock to you, but I really need to ask you some questions."

When my eyes finally focused on the face the voice was coming from, I realized that it had been Bella's father, police chief Swan who had spoken to me.

"Um, okay. Of course." Dang! What was I suppose to say. And where in the devil was Jacob?

"Where's Jake?" I panicked. What if he wasn't okay after all? I jumped down off the bed and swooned. Too soon. I shouldn't have tried to stand, but instinct drove me to find Jacob and make sure that he wasn't in danger anymore.

"He's just across the hall with Doctor Cullen," Chief Swan answered while patting my hand -trying to reassure me. They wild look in my eyes made him sit down in a chair beside the bed and he continued patting my hand. "Jacob's going to be just fine, really. The bullet only grazed his arm and Doctor Cullen has assured me that it was only a minor cut that he suffered."

"But.." I caught myself before I spilled the beans. If Doctor Cullen was truly treating Jacob's wound, he would know that the bullet hadn't just grazed him. I assumed that meant that the doctor was in on Jacob's secret. Things were quickly falling into place for me. This must have something to do with why Jacob reacted so harshly in regard to the Cullen family. Then, they must all know, I surmised. Hmmm, there had to be more to it than that. Jacob had explained to me that no one else outside the small group he had named of Quilluete tribe members and a few select others -including myself now- were privileged with the knowledge of the pack. Bella and the Cullens must have been the nameless "few select others".

Chief Swan's voice pulled me back from my revelations. "Miss Weber, I know that this has all been very traumatic, but it's best if we get your statement now while your memory is still fresh. I'm going to need to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer as honestly as you can, okay?"

Oh, no! What was I suppose to say? What was the right thing to say to keep Jake's secret from being found out and to keep Ben out of serious trouble?

"Jacob!" I didn't know what else to do. So, I screamed for reinforcements.

_**(A/N: Alrighty, then. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!! Let me have it! I wanna know what you hated, what you loved and what you would like to see next. Also, check out the poll on my profile and be sure to vote.)**_


	16. Editing the Truth

_**Editing the Truth**_

(_Jacob's POV_)

_**"Jacob!" **_Angela's quavering voice rang out in the room across the hall from where my wounds were being properly dressed by Dr. Cullen.

He didn't attempt to stop me as I jumped up from the hospital bed and made my way to the door; however, I turned before I stepped out into the hallway and faced him. I knew that we had to get our story straight with one another, before the cops started nosing around and asking too many questions that I wasn't sure how to answer.

"I'll demand to speak only with Chief Swan, and you do the same, Jacob," He answered as if he knew what I was thinking, before I said it out loud. As far as I knew, though, Edward was the only Cullen to possess the ability to read minds.

"What good will that do?" I questioned. "He knows just as little about you and I as the rest of the world."

"True. But Charlie trusts me and he won't question anything I tell him."

"How can you be so sure of that?" _Was he serious_? Charlie may be completely oblivious when it came to his daughter's choice in otherworldly companions, but this was police business -_his_ reality. I had always known Charlie to be very diligent when it came to matters concerning the law and his position.

"This won't be the first time that I've successfully manipulated the facts concerning what would otherwise be an unexplainable incident." His grin showed his self confidence, but did little to calm my fears that we both would be found out somehow by this stupid "incident".

"But, how...I mean, what exactly do I tell Charlie?" It was frustrating, having to rely on a bloodsucker to keep my enormous secret_ a secret_.

"Don't worry about that. I've already got your story covered."

"Well?" I questioned. "Mind letting me in on the plan?"

"Not at all, but the only way this is going to work, is if you go to Angela right now. _Hurry_," he said as he pushed me toward the door.

Carlisle frowned as he wadded up the paper covering the bed and placed it along with the needle and other bloody supplies in a waste basket. I watched as he quickly tied up the trash bag and then stuffed it into a black duffel bag that he removed from a cabinet. I was curious as to what he was planning on doing with that, but didn't feel it was as important as the matter at hand.

Carlisle glanced back up at me and smiled reassuringly. "Go on, Jacob. I'll be there to save the day momentarily. Just go play the worried boyfriend and I will interrupt Charlie's interrogation of the two of you. Timing is everything."

I turned my back on him, dashing across the hallway in an instant. Angela was sitting on the bed facing me with Charlie sitting in a chair directly in front of her. Although his back was to me, I could see that he was patting Angela's hand as if to comfort her.

Distress clouded Angela's features, but she still glowed like an Angel. She rose to her feet and darted toward me when her tearful eyes found me standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Jake! I was so worried. I wanted to see you so badly. I couldn't think straight, not knowing if you were okay. You are okay, aren't you?" She was babbling. Her words rushed out. When I didn't immediately answer, she squeezed my arm with her hand -wincing as her stitches pulled tight.

Having Angela in my arms was all I needed to make the world stop spinning and the chaos fade away. With her eyes locked on mine, I felt indestructible. Even the strength of a werewolf was nothing compared to the way Angela made me feel. I couldn't fight the urge to kiss her any longer. I picked her up off of her feet and held her tightly against me until I felt her tension subside as her body relaxed.

I could have easily let myself get caught up in the moment and simply disappeared from the scene as though I had never even been there -_and never taken a bullet to the shoulder_. But time was working against me, and since Carlisle had been kind enough to assist me in taking down "Ben Eastwood", I figured I should do what I could to help with the police report.

"Shh. It's okay, Angela," I kissed her lips quickly and then pressed my lips to her forehead. She whimpered lightly and my heart nearly stopped. I could feel how worried she had been -how much she needed me and loved me. And in that instant I felt a stronger bond grow between us than had previously existed. It was an overwhelming sensation.

I stumbled backward, with Angela in my arms and Charlie flew from his chair to avoid being squashed underneath us. His hand caught my right arm and he guided me to the bed to sit down.

I sat down a little too hard and Angela's body bounced like a rag doll in my arms. She giggled and I looked into her sweet face to see that a smile played on her lips even though her eyes still pooled with tears.

"Jake, you shouldn't be lifting her like that," Charlie said with obvious concern in his voice. He assumed that I was weak from my stress over my injuries. I could use this to my advantage.

"I'm..I"m alright," I stuttered, but not from pain or feeling faint. I hadn't taken my eyes off of Angela. She was looking directly into my soul and for the life of me I couldn't break her gaze. Her lips parted slightly as her eyelids slid shut and she inhaled slowly and deeply.

_Oh, no. Not here. Not in front of Charlie_.

A small sound rolled out of Angela. It was like the purr of a big cat -a cougar or a lion. I wanted her in that moment so badly that I was glad she was sitting on my lap to conceal my torment. At the same time, it was agonizing to have her so close. It took all the will power I could muster to keep her far enough away from where I _wished_ she was -in order to remain fully clothed and decent.

Thankfully, at that moment, Carlisle knocked loudly on the open door and made his way in without waiting for an invitation.

"Well, I see that you two seem to be somewhat calmer now. I was worried there for a minute that I would have to restrain Mr. Black to finish up with his stitches." Angela looked up at Carlisle questioningly and then back to me.

"I tried to tell him that I was fine, so that I could come in here and wait with you," I grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, Jake, I could tear-" Her voice was thick with lust. I panicked and hurriedly pressed my lips to Angela's to silence her.

Dirty thoughts had been running rampant through my mind. One of them being a scene of us tearing off each others clothes.

I guessed that Angela still had some of those naughty images bouncing around in her mind. I would have to temporarily distract her...though, I realized suddenly that a kiss was probably not the wisest approach.

Angela moaned and parted my lips with her tongue. My eyes flew wide open as her hands traveled down my chest and I felt her fingers sliding under the waist band of my jeans.

"Uh-hemm," Carlisle cleared his throat and Charlie snickered despite himself.

"Perhaps, it would have been wise of me to restrain instead," Carlisle chuckled. Angela acted as if she didn't hear him, clawing at the button and zipper of my pants.

I had to literally pry Angela's hands away from me. Her strength was surprising. It took her a second to realize that I was fighting her off. When reality came into focus, she blushed the most beautiful shade of red.

"I still need to ask you all some questions...if you two think you can behave long enough to do that for me," Charlie added. He was sporting a huge grin, but his tone was now very serious.

"I'd like to start with you, Ms. Weber. May I call you Angela?"

"Actually, Chief Swan, I don't think Ms. Weber will be of much use to you in this matter," Carlisle interjected.

"Hmm? How's that?" Charlie looked at Carlisle, confused.

"It was my understanding that the assailant was Ms. Weber's boyfriend. Or rather _ex_-boyfriend, I take it?" Charlie threw a look at the two of us -one eyebrow raised as though he assumed that he knew what had happened without asking.

Angela merely nodded slightly and Carlisle answered for her. "That may be true; however, Ms. Weber was receiving stitches just moments before the gunshot rang out and I insisted that she stay where she was. From the look on her face, I would surmise that she was terrified as anyone would have been at that moment.

I personally ran out to the lobby, where I found Mr. Black -who had sustained a minor grazing injury and a shocked Mr. Cheney, holding a gun in his trembling hand. He himself looked as terrified as Ms. Weber had been."

"I see." Charlie turned to Angela who was gazing desperately into my eyes again.

_No_. I mouthed silently to her, as Charlie posed another question.

"So, you didn't see _anything_, Angela?"

Angela never looked away from me as she answered.

"Not until Dr. Cullen had taken the gun away from Ben. And then I saw that Jacob was bleeding."

She paused and ran her hand gingerly over the bandage on my shoulder. The light touch of her fingers on my skin made my pulse quicken and my mouth began to water. I bit my lip as she stared lustily into my eyes once again. This was pure torture.

Angela shifted her weight in my lap, knowing that I was fully aroused. She peered at me through long dark lashes and I held my breath. Another ten minutes of this was all I would possibly be able to take -if I could hold out for that long.

"Umm.." Charlie sensed the tension between Angela and I. It was obvious that he was becoming uncomfortable and Carlisle suggested that they give the two of us our privacy for a moment.

So, this had been Carlisle's intention -distracting Charlie with Angela's "little infatuation" with me- when he insisted that I go straight to her. Maybe the bloodsucker knew his stuff after all. Charlie took the bait -hook, line and sinker.

How Carlisle knew that Angela would act up was an entirely different matter. Even Bella didn't know that I had fallen out of love with her so quickly and found my soul mate in her unsuspecting friend.

I hadn't told anyone outside of the pack that I had imprinted on Angela -not Bella, especially. So, I didn't know how any of the Cullens would have an inkling of what was going on between Angela and I.

"Well," Charlie started, "technically I'm suppose to interview each of you separately and as quickly after the incident as possible...but, since what you've told me matches pretty closely with what the Cheney kid says...I guess it would be alright if I finished taking your statements a bit later."

To my surprise, Angela broke her trance at the mention of Ben's name and her eyes grew large with worry once more.

"Chief Swan? Can I ask you what will happen to Ben? I..I mean, really..I don't think he ever meant to hurt anyone. I don't think he was thinking about what he was doing at all. What I mean is...well..I don't...I mean-"

"I can't disclose much information about him to you, but you should know that I think we can possibly make this all go away. I don't think that he was acting rationally either, Angela. But that's just between the two of us, okay?" Charlie winked at Angela and explained to her that he and another officer had found an empty six-pack of beer in Ben's car and that his parent's had been fighting all week about things involving Ben and his future at college.

"Apparently Ben had been coming over to Angela's to tell her that he wouldn't be attending school in the fall with her, after all. He was already upset when she showed up late to meet him. He had been driving his father's car, when he found the pistol in the glove know this because his father admitted to keeping the gun there. His parents called to alert me that Ben had taken off in a terrible state," Charlie admitted.

So, that's why the police had responded so quickly. They had already been alerted to Ben's strange behavior. This was all working out too smoothly.

According to Charlie, when Ben gave his statement, he had barely been coherent enough to tell the officers his full name and address. He didn't even remember coming to the hospital at all. He thought that he had been in some sort of accident and nearly fainted at the sight of blood on the floor, when the police ushered him out of the lobby and into the squad car.

Charlie and Carlisle stepped outside to give us our "moment alone", and I listened carefully to their continuing conversation.

"Honestly, Dr. Cullen-" Charlie began.

"Please, call me Carlisle."

"Okay, uh..Carlisle. I don't think we should pursue this investigation. I mean that's entirely up to what you and Jacob would like to do, but knowing what this kid is going through...well, you know what it's like having all that pressure on you as a kid, and..."

That was all I needed to hear, and it was a good thing to, because when I turned to relay what I had heard to Angela, she leaped into my arms -nearly knocking me down.


End file.
